Category: Film Review

American Teen is a production company that specializes in making crude comedies for streaming audiences, including “The Binge” and its sequel, and last spring’s “Pizza Movie.” They return with “Never Change” (which could be a subtle comment on the company’s formulaic ways) offering another rough examination of arrested development, this time exploring the pains of 35-year-olds forced to return to high school to complete their education. Screenwriters John Reynolds and Marty Schousboe (who also directs) have a fun idea to explore, which twists the usual take on class reunion cinema, but they don’t have much interest in a sharper sense of humor for all this strangeness. “Never Change” pounds on the senses with its vulgarity and attempts at meme-style jokiness, but patches of clear thinking remain, giving the film the occasional inspired moment and an assortment of amusing performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Izabel Pakzad makes her feature-length debut with “Find Your Friends,” which attempts to merge the concerns of Gen Z women facing the brutal realities of adulthood with a grindhouse-style revenge chiller from the 1970s. The picture is all about overstimulation, challenging viewers to remain invested in aggressive personalities getting into real-world trouble as friendships are put to the test during a long weekend in the desert. Pakzad pays tribute to drive-in cinema with the endeavor, aiming to make violence gnarly and psychological troubles persistent, striving to present younger viewers with a horror show that reflects today’s social and emotional dangers. It’s a fine idea for a terror picture, but actually sitting through the movie is a supreme challenge, as Pakzad plays a strange game of excess, which tends to undercut the primal fears being explored here. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If there’s one thing director Steven Spielberg likes, it’s aliens. The unknown has played a major role in the helmer’s career, dating back to childhood productions (1964’s “Firelight”), but Spielberg has been away from close encounters for some time (since 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”), making his latest, “Disclosure Day,” something of a personal release as he also takes a story by credit (longtime collaborator David Koepp writes the screenplay). There’s a lot of information to process in the new picture, which explores the connection between humans and aliens on Earth, and the battle to keep such evidence a secret. However, Spielberg isn’t in an action-oriented mood with the endeavor, trying to win viewers through heaps and heaps of exposition in an overlong movie (145 minutes). The truth is out there, but it takes a little work to stay interested in the film, which politely ignores a more urgent edit to bathe once again in the cinematic waters of awe. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Ayden Mayeri is an up-and-coming actress who’s been quite enjoyable in recent years, including work on the criminally underseen television show, “I Love That for You,” and supporting turns in “Cora Bora,” “Jackpot,” and “Confess, Fletch.” Mayeri receives a chance to explore more dramatic challenges in “Honeyjoon,” paired with co-star Amira Casar (“Call Me By Your Name”) for this very modest study of grief and family relationships during a time of emotional upheaval. Writer/director Lilian T. Mehrel finds a break in communication and healing and gradually digs into the ways of a mother and her daughter attempting to take a trip together while dealing with the weight of the world. “Honeyjoon” is delicate, but also funny and refreshingly spare when investigating the troubled union and individual character concerns. Mehrel makes her feature-length helming debut with the offering, showing confidence with atmosphere and casting, and Mayeri and Casar are wonderful together. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s been a lot of media coverage for actress Simone Ashley in recent years. She made a strong impression during her time on the streaming show “Bridgerton,” amassing a passionate fanbase, but she hasn’t had much to do when it comes to feature-length releases, appearing in smaller roles in 2023’s “The Little Mermaid” and the recent “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Ashley receives a chance to show her dramatic side in “This Tempting Madness,” a psychological thriller “inspired by actual events.” Co-writer/director Jennifer E. Montgomery is tasked with generating an involving maze of possible insanity with the film, and she packs the picture with plenty of nightmare imagery and confusion, attempting to keep viewers guessing as to what is happening to the lead character. Ashley delivers capable work in the offering, which retains a decent behavioral puzzle to solve, but there’s not a lot of substance to match all the style. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Norwegian film industry has maintained an interest in the ways of disaster cinema and monster movies. The country has scored many successes over the last ten years, and 2025 saw the return of towering terror in “Troll 2.” Now horror plunges into the depths in “Kraken,” which confronts the deadly presence of an aquatic beast swimming around a popular body of water home to scientific research and fish farming. Director Pal Oie (who previously helmed 2019’s “The Tunnel”) hopes to merge a creature feature with disaster movie-style build-up and characterization, taking his time to get to the one thing most viewers want to see: the kraken. There are technical credits to enjoy and sturdy performances to follow, but “Kraken” waits a little too long before it begins to make a mess of things, requiring some patience with the endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“I Am Frankelda” is a prequel to the television series, “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks.” But don’t worry, knowledge of the program isn’t necessary to enjoy the picture, though it might help with an overall appreciation of the story. There are numerous characters in play, and an entire dark fantasy world to take in, but there’s one element to the endeavor that ties it all together: artistry. It’s a stop-motion animated feature from writer/directors Arturo and Roy Ambriz, and the siblings go especially hard with their imagination for the movie, generating a deep, exquisitely textured look at an adventure that explores monster and madness with wonderfully rough-around-the-edges craftsmanship. “I Am Frankelda” isn’t as powerful a viewing experience when it has to deal with its dramatic complications, but the helmers deliver a visually stunning effort that’s fascinating to watch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, Jennifer Lopez attempted to shake up her career some, starring in the prestige musical, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Unfortunately for the actress, almost nobody saw the feature, pushing her back to the comfort of a romantic comedy, but it’s never quite clear how sincere “Office Romance” wants to be. Screenwriters Joe Kelly and Brett Goldstein (who also co-stars) and director Ol Parker (“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” “Ticket to Paradise”) aren’t pursuing something extremely sweet with the offering, which deals with the tingles of new love, but primarily plays like a Farrelly Brothers movie, complete with coarse language, accidental erections, and fierce commitment to tired formula to help keep the film on course. “Office Romance” is a bizarre viewing experience, watching Parker and the writing visit extremes to secure laughs, weirdly forgetting gentleness is usually the key to a successful rom-com. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2000’s “Scary Movie” was a response to the red-hot trend of horror movies released after the unexpected success of 1996’s “Scream.” It was a parody overseen by the Wayans Family, with director Keenan Ivory Wayans previously enjoying a tremendous creative success with his hilarious Blaxploitation send up, 1988’s “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.” “Scary Movie” was extremely crude, but it hit at the right time, delighting young audiences previously subjected to four years of slashers and spooky films. The wild comedy served as a release for viewers. Wayans Inc. moved on to “Scary Movie 2” before being removed from the franchise, which carried on for three more chapters before dying out in 2013. Marlon Wayans tried to keep the fires lit, repeating “Scary Movie” formula for a series of horrendous offerings, including “A Haunted House” and “Fifty Shades of Black,” and now he’s back with his frequent collaborator, director Michael Tiddes, for, well, “Scary Movie,” which seeks to return the Wayans Way to the franchise after a 25-year-long break. And what they ultimately deliver is a dreadful reboot that stumbles through tired, miserable ideas for comedy with no invention and little enthusiasm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Movies about dangerous hippo attacks aren’t common. One could go back to 1995’s “Congo” for some elaborate river mayhem, and a few “Jumanji” pictures have dealt with the threat, but filmmakers don’t usually turn to hippos for rampaging action. With the oversaturation of shark attack cinema, writer/director James Nunn turns to hippo horrors for “Hungry,” which provides an unusual screen threat, but largely resembles every movie made about aquatic dangers. The endeavor is no “Jaws,” and it’s disappointing to watch Nunn keep his distance from a more active viewing experience, spending a lot of time on uninteresting characters while nightmare situations of survival are few and far between. “Hungry” has a few technical achievements to keep it involving, but the overall lethargy of the offering is surprising to behold, with hippo attacks not prioritized by the production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Producers tried to make sense of “Masters of the Universe” once before. The extraordinarily popular toyline/cartoon show was previously brought to the big screen in a 1987 film starring Dolph Lungren as He-Man. Unfortunately, it was a Cannon Films production, which means the budget was tight for an epic fantasy feature, and the production team didn’t have a firm grasp on the appeal of the source material. He-Man returns in 2026 with a whole bunch of money to help director Travis Knight (who did a wonderful job with another toy-central tale in 2018’s “Bumblebee”) realize Eternian conflict for several generations of fans and newcomers, with the new “Masters of the Universe” a spirited adaptation of the brand, bringing some much needed bigness to the endeavor. It’s a fun picture with several tonal and dramatic issues, but Knight understands how to translate a world of brawn, battles, and campiness, generating a decent cinematic ride with a newly self-aware He-Man. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Adam Carter Rehmeier impressed some with his 2022 film, “Dinner in America,” and he delivered more confident work in 2024’s “Snack Shack,” a funky little comedy that deserved a much bigger audience. Rehmeier returns with “Carolina Caroline,” generating an outlaw mood with the crime picture, which is scripted by Tom Dean, who seeks to power the endeavor on heat and danger. Rehmeier gets the assignment, looking to remain as close to stars Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner as possible, out to conjure chemistry and delve into the stickiness of a bad situation as the lead characters get caught up in criminal activity while speeding through the American south, on the hunt for monetary liberation and personal freedom. “Carolina Caroline” isn’t stunning work, but Rehmeier catches the right mood for the movie, playing with elements of attraction and danger as he tracks an unstable relationship. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Seven Snipers” is an Australian production looking to keep budgetary demands down. The cast is limited to a handful of actors, and the story takes place around a single location, maintaining minimal complication. Screenwriter Andrew O’Keefe is challenged to do something suspenseful with the low budget endeavor, and he manages to summon at least a bit of tension throughout the picture, which concerns an ex-military mother trying to protect her daughter when an old foe returns to kill her. Director Sandra Sciberras has the advantage of a wide open world to play with, generating a decent level of danger in the feature, which has its surges of confrontation. “Seven Snipers” is passably engrossing, especially in its early scenes, where O’Keefe toys with the mysteries of character connections, and Sciberras creates tense moments of danger. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Chum” takes viewers back into the depths, where a lot of movies have been recently. Shark attack cinema reemerges, and soon after the release of “Deep Water” and “Thrash,” asking viewers to return to dangerous waters with an endeavor that doesn’t have all that strong of a cast and a severely restrained budget. Co-writer/director Jonathan Zuck is handed limited resources, attempting to make a horror film that works with oceanic predators and human ones, intending to give the material a few turns and moments of tension as the characters struggle to find their way out of a dire situation. “Chum” has its central idea, which isn’t a bad one, but Zuck’s execution leaves much to be desired. The offering is often stuck with sludgy character activity and lackluster technical credits, helping to mute whatever moments of intensity the production actually manages to create. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Most animated films follow formula, and “The Last Whale Singer” is no different. It’s a mixture of many other pictures, primarily following story and character elements from 1994’s “The Lion King,” leaving it up to writer/director Reza Memari to find a way to make a movie that’s engaging and lively, to help distance itself from its inherent derivativeness. “The Last Whale Singer” manages to slightly overcome its dramatic creakiness, providing younger viewers with a colorful study of oceanic adventuring that blends fantasy entanglements with real-world environmental horrors. Memari remains gentle with the endeavor, and he strives to do something within his budget animation parameters, generating an enjoyable feature that’s intermittently inspired and big-hearted, even getting semi-epic at times as the production manufactures a risky journey for the main characters and their hope to learn more about Earthly depths. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The mysteries of the universe are endlessly discussed in “Signal One,” a film that’s mostly tell and very little show. Writer/director Jonathan Sobol (“The Art of the Steal,” “The Padre”) doesn’t have a large budget to examine the presence of alien life, but he does have a screenplay that’s almost entirely filled with debates, questions, and the decoding of potential outcomes involving a collection of brilliant minds inching closer to the presence of extraterrestrial life. Sobol looks to 1997’s “Contact” as inspiration for the picture, getting close to manufacturing an unofficial remake with the endeavor, which also plays with emotionally scarred people figuring out communication from alien life. “Signal One” hopes to put on a show of intellectuals putting a puzzle of possibility together, but the helmer doesn’t provide a cinematic experience, going limp with an overly talky movie that doesn’t reach the level of awe Sobol hopes to achieve. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Backrooms” originated on the internet, with a young fanbase taking a simple photo of an empty commercial space and expanding it into a whole universe of “creepypasta.” Filmmaker Kane Parsons managed to popularize it, exploring the dead zone through multiple YouTube videos which amassed a large viewership. Parsons graduates to big screen moviemaking with a new pass at his original online creation, with “Backrooms” giving the helmer a budget and actors to figure out how to restart the engine of the concept, which now has studio backing. There’s a striking visual world to explore in the film, as Parsons gets imaginative when generating a claustrophobic realm of mazes and monsters. Storytelling isn’t quite as compelling in the offering, which revels in enigmatic developments without inviting viewers to help piece together what becomes a not too terribly interesting puzzle of madness and trauma. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John Travolta has been an actor for over 50 years. He’s had some wild career highs and lows over the decades, but now he’s finally ready to step behind the camera for the very first time. “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” is an adaptation of Travolta’s 1997 “children’s book,” which attempted to offer a whimsical look at a child’s experience with air travel and his mother in 1962. It was a nostalgic examination of golden aviation years, and now it’s a movie, with Travolta handling script and directorial duties, out to bring to life a business that’s experienced tremendous service decline since its heyday. “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” is more of a short film than a feature (running 60 minutes long), but such brevity is actually a blessing, as Travolta’s push to make these memories and experiences charming is difficult to process, and his insistence that the tale is intended for family audiences is downright nuts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1983’s “Mr. Mom” explored the changing dynamics of household leadership during a time when more women were joining the workforce. It was pleasant, good-natured silly business from screenwriter John Hughes, who exaggerated the evolution of men in parental mode, having fun with the concept of a father tasked with taking care of domestic duties and the raising of children while his wife tended to her corporate job. Again, 1983. In 2026, comedian Nate Bargatze attempts to revive the same plot for “The Breadwinner,” taking starring and co-writing duties for a picture that doesn’t appear to understand the changing ways of domestic balance, charging ahead as a dumb guy movie. And it’s not an inspired dumb guy movie. “The Breadwinner” plays like a failed T.V. pilot, watching Bargatze stumble through an antiquated take on gender roles and fatherly authority, trying to play to his fanbase with stiff slapstick and dreary sentiment, hoping to launch a leading man career with an offering that actually makes him quite unappealing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Loves Company” is a riff on Stephen King’s 1987 novel, “Misery.” However, instead of a deranged woman imprisoning her favorite author to preserve the fantasy relationship that only exists in her mind, writer/director Jason Laurits reverses the central situation, turning a potential act of captivity into a professional opportunity for the main character. Laurits goes for laughs, not shocks, with the endeavor, exploring a Floridian community of damaged and dim people trying to make sense of an unexpected arrival from a once semi-famous man. The helmer isn’t going for major laughs with the offering, but he has a capable cast to bring the movie to life, with stars Jack Plotnick and Rachel Dratch delivering sharp, amusing performances that bring necessary color to the low-budget effort. The actors keep things lively for Laurits as he searches for unusual turns for the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com