Category: Film Review

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

While primarily known as a comedic actor (and an Academy Award-winning screenwriter), Jim Rash has been chipping away at a directorial career over the years. With partner Nat Faxton, Rash co-helmed 2013’s “The Way, Way Back,” and 2020’s “Downhill,” and he returns as a solo act for “Miss You, Love You,” also handling writing duties for the feature. Rash doesn’t offer an epic here, but an incredibly small drama about big feelings, going the two-hander route with an examination of itchiness shared between a widow and her son’s assistant, who’s been sent to help her manage funeral arrangements. “Miss You, Love You” carries a theatrical stance, with Rash investing in dramatic combat, and he finds ideal talent in star Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells, who provide excellent turns in the endeavor, sinking their teeth into juicy roles that explore a wide range of emotions and hostilities. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John Carney loves music. The director has been pursuing the celebration, liberation, and communication of music for quite some time now, exploring the strange power of songwriting in features such as “Once,” “Begin Again,” “Sing Street,” and “Flora and Son,” and he returns to familiar ground with “Power Ballad,” also co-scripting the picture with Peter McDonald. Instead of being delicate with the magic of musical alchemy, Carney gets a little more combative with his latest endeavor, following the struggles of a wedding singer who knows his song has been stolen by a pop star, only he can’t prove it. It has the makings of a thriller, but Carney doesn’t work that way, electing to return to easygoing personalities and battles of the heart, throwing in an earworm tune for good measure. “Power Ballad” intends to be a crowd-pleaser, and it has its moments, but it’s also a bit unsteady in the editorial department, emerging a bit wobbly when Carney is shooting for a big, juicy charmer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For people of a certain age, the title “Pitfall” inspires memories of gaming days gone by. Of hours spent running through a digital jungle, swinging on vines and jumping on crocodile heads. Screenwriter Victor Rose doesn’t share that same nostalgia, instead making his version of “Pitfall” about a killer in the woods targeting campers who dare to enter his domain. It’s the usual in slasher cinema, but Rose doesn’t stop with obvious genre entanglements and sequences of survival. He’s pursuing a more sincere massacre, using the heaviness of grief and trauma to deal with characters and their personal problems between sequences of victims being hacked to pieces. Director James Kondelik does what he can to obscure his tiny budget and limited locations, and he delivers a reasonably effective nightmare in “Pitfall,” which carries a bit more substance while still pursuing frights. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Netflix is remaking Netflix. In 2018, the streamer released “I Am Not an Easy Man,” a French production that detailed the experience of a male chauvinist who’s smacked in the head, waking up to a new world ruled by women, forcing him to negotiate a different reality that doesn’t sit well with him. In 2026, screenwriters Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman look to bring the premise back for “Ladies First,” transforming a study of enlightenment into a Sacha Baron Cohen comedy. It’s not exactly an upgrade, placing the usually wily actor into a conventional picture that mines humor from the switcheroo scenario, which delivers about two minutes of satire. The rest of the feature is fairly soft and feeble, with director Thea Sharrock (“The One and Only Ivan,” “Me Before You”) unwilling to get sharper with the endeavor. Netflix didn’t provide “Ladies First” for review, and one can clearly see why after sitting through the opening act. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Van living is the setting for “Passenger,” which is a generic title for what becomes a generic film. Screenwriters Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess are endeavoring to create a ghost story of some shape with the feature, and they want to establish the horror of a new movie maniac in the Passenger, who haunts the roads, becoming more of a curse as his malevolence is passed from driver to driver. Director Andre Ovredal has a history of genre employment (including “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and his last effort, 2023’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter”), but his veteran status doesn’t come into play in “Passenger.” Instead of sneaky, sinister work, there’s the usual in jump scares and labored characterization, keeping the offering underwhelming when it isn’t hellbent on trying to jolt viewers into submission. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Mandalorian” became a major hit for the Disney+ streaming service after it debuted in 2019, commencing a move from the corporation to redirect “Star Wars” to the small screen, creating shows that explored the George Lucas-created galaxy. Now the studio wants to bring the saga back to theaters (seven years after the theatrical release of “The Rise of Skywalker”), and they’re using two of their most popular characters to do it, putting co-writer/director Jon Favreau to work on “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which looks to supersize the original show, delivering big action and character interactions to do it. This is action figure “Star Wars,” not fascism and pain “Star Wars,” and while there’s not a mammoth story to back up the refreshed scale of the production, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is immense fun and consistently playful, with Favreau embracing momentum and mayhem as he delivers a fresh round of adventuring for the bounty hunter and his Jedi charge. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Stolen Kingdom” is a documentary about the Disney black market. For those not paying close attention to the ways of theme park fandom, there are people out there who openly steal items from all the Disney parks, with many accessing “backstage” areas of the attractions to locate treasures for the taking. And there are buyers willing to pay top dollar for such finds, helping to add to personal collections. Director Joshua Bailey attempts to explain the whole subculture in the picture, putting focus on the character of Buzzy from the attraction “Cranium Command,” which was once open at Epcot in the Wonders of Life pavilion. The show closed in 2007, but Buzzy remained in place. That is, until one day some items of clothing were reported missing, and soon enough, the whole animatronic was gone. It’s a mystery ripe for examination, and Bailey gets most of the way there in “Stolen Kingdom,” examining the personalities and behavioral issues involved with those determined to access forbidden areas of Disney’s empire. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Natalie Erika James made a strong impression with her debut film, 2020’s “Relic,” skillfully merging horror happenings with a meaningful tale of health woes and family issues. She followed it up with a nearly impossible directorial mission, tasked with revisiting the world of “Rosemary’s Baby” in 2024’s “Apartment 7A.” Against all odds, James made an interesting movie, continuing her exploration of female-centric stories and genre intensity. She returns to her dramatic interests in “Saccharine,” this time merging a most unusual haunting with an examination of eating disorders and self-worth. Once again, the helmer delivers an atmospheric and periodically chilling understanding of pressure put on the main character as she confronts psychological and physical issues while trapped in a worsening situation. “Saccharine” is body horror with a potent message, and James continues on her path as one of the more talented filmmakers working today. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2018, musician Boots Riley made his filmmaking debut with “Sorry to Bother You.” It was a wild comedy flowing with artistic impulses and general craziness, helping to secure Riley as a director to watch. He’s finally back on screens with “I Love Boosters,” which is inspired by a 2006 song from Riley’s hip-hop group, The Coup, developing the central concept of fashion thieves confronting a top designer, on the hunt to lift her most expensive collection yet. It’s another wet slice of wackiness from Riley, who’s been handed a bigger budget to feel out his visual and thespian mischief, getting a little more epic with his vision. “I Love Boosters” is a lot, and not always in a fulfilling manner, but Riley is playful with the endeavor, keeping up with his interests in social commentary and extravagant imagery as he tries to surprise once again. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Corporate Retreat” is a comedy. Maybe? Or it could be a horror film. Co-writer/director Aaron Fisher is out to master many tones for this endeavor, attempting to enjoy the possibilities of dark comedy with a premise that invites a lot of ghoulish situations. The offering hopes to be a wicked good time for all, but Fisher isn’t all that refined a filmmaker, barely handling the basics in twists and turns for the feature, and his command over performances is severely lacking. Co-star Alan Ruck is the only capable actor in the ensemble effort, and I can’t imagine how intolerable “Corporate Retreat” would be without his commitment and skill with oddball material. He’s the only offering of hope in the mostly hopeless picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Since 2019, there has been no shortage of Guy Ritchie movies. The man has been on a directing tear, putting projects into motion or taking paying gigs wherever he can find them. Heck, just last week saw the release of a new Richie offering (“In the Grey”) that almost nobody paid to see. And here comes “Reckless,” which is written by Matthew Robert Kelly and Stu Small, and it strives to retain that Ritchie screen energy when it comes to British crime films and their wacky characters. Director Elliott Montello doesn’t seem to mind the comparison, leaning into the sameness of the story, which follows an ex-con trying to reclaim stolen money from his old underworld partners, and they’re not in a cooperative mood. “Reckless” isn’t original work, but there’s a little spark with performances, putting Scott Adkins into action as a man in panic mode finding problems everywhere he turns. Such enthusiasm is enough to make the endeavor enjoyable, but it’s never remarkable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Giant” is executive produced by Slyvester Stallone, because if there’s a boxing movie to be made, the man once known as Rocky Balboa must have something to do with it. However, this isn’t a “Rocky” sequel, but a British bio-pic of champion pugilist Naseen Hamed, focusing on his special relationship with longtime trainer Brenden Ingle. Writer/director Rowan Athale (2019’s “Strange But True”) attempts to make a very flashy picture, taking the lead from Hamed’s own high-flying ego and sporting showmanship, creating a few pockets of screen energy to help ease an otherwise laborious viewing experience. “Giant” doesn’t offer anything fresh to boxing cinema, and Hamed’s own story of triumph isn’t exactly compelling, leaving Athale to conjure drama with otherwise uninteresting people and their war of stubbornness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A respected, award-winning playwright, Alesha Harris makes her filmmaking debut with “Is God Is.” She’s adapting her 2018 play, which follows the agitated state of twin sisters on the hunt for their abusive father, following orders from their mother to kill a most monstrous man. It’s a powerful study of frustration and endurance, and the material finds blasts of raw power on the big screen. Harris is mindful of cinematic needs, and she makes a ferocious endeavor, and one that’s supported by many incredibly vivid performances and sharp technical credits. “Is God Is” doesn’t always offer commanding drama, but Harris achieves most of her goals, out to create an understanding of pain and fury contained within an odyssey that sends the two main characters into Hell, giving them a life-changing awakening as their bonds are tested. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Once again, Guy Ritchie loves to work. His latest endeavor, “In the Grey,” is his eighth picture since 2019, finding the prolific filmmaker tearing through productions for reasons that will probably make for a good book one day. Some of these offerings have been satisfying (“The Gentlemen,” “The Covenant”), while others didn’t come together (“Fountain of Youth,” “Aladdin”), and “In the Grey” is definitely one for the “disappointment” pile. The movie hasn’t enjoyed a smooth road to release, once stuck in studio limbo waiting for reshoots that couldn’t be scheduled. Now it’s out, presumably in its initial form, and Ritchie sticks with his formula for another round of loquacious characters weaving around games of intimidation. There’s a blast of violence waiting at the end of the effort, but it takes some work to stay involved in the convoluted, undercooked screenplay and lifeless performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Curry Barker finds a fresh way to escalate the passion of a young person’s crush in “Obsession.” It’s a fright film, but it deals with the fixations of youth and how such energy is challenged by a horrifying new reality once dark magic enters the situation. It’s Barker’s riff on “The Monkey’s Paw,” twisting adolescent concerns with a slow-burn approach that picks up on the strange details of a mistake that comes for a young man simply trying to transform his feelings for someone into reality. “Obsession” has a few darkly comedic scenes, but it’s mostly a severe examination of a twisted situation, and the helmer has the guts to get fantastically grim with the premise. This understanding of despair helps to make the endeavor special, out to leave viewers fully disturbed instead of merely upset. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com