Category: Film Review

Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions went YA with 2023’s “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” trying to reach a younger audience with a tale of adolescent struggles. The picture was PG-13 and a bit gentler than the usual Sandler fare, and it was rewarded with some of the best reviews Happy Madison has ever received. Perhaps a lesson might be learned from taking a chance on such sincerity, but that’s not how “Roommates” goes. Screenwriters Jimmy Fowlie and Ceara O’Sullivan elect to return to coarseness with the endeavor, which examines a war of anxiety between two college students who don’t get along, creating a turbulent school year to endure. “Roommates” upgrades “Bat Mitzvah” co-star Sadie Sandler to the lead role, and the production looks to find an older audience with the endeavor, which has great difficulty balancing a genuine study of resentment and R-rated Happy Madison shenanigans and weirdness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Podcaster Theo Von wants to be an actor. Comedian David Spade wants a job. The men join forces to make “Busboys,” a self-financed venture that’s meant to play directly to their target demographic with an offering of crude, “anti-woke” comedy, aiming to recall the glory days(?) of goofy productions from the early 2000s. Spade and Von also share a screenplay credit on the endeavor, although it’s hard to imagine what was exactly written down for the picture, which presents a stunningly random set of situations for the main characters, who want to achieve something undefined, embarking on an aimless, witless journey to acquire it. Jonah Feingold (“EXmas,” “Dating & New York,” and “At Midnight”) is credited as the helmer of this effort, though there’s no perceptible direction to be found in this feature, which lurches from scene to scene, trying to deliver a laugh riot without actually including any jokes. If there’s a worse film than “Busboys” in 2026, I’ll be shocked. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2005’s “Lord of War” offered a study of global arms dealing, but it delivered a powerful title sequence that followed the life of a bullet from its factory creation to its final destination, exchanging hands at multiple stops on the journey. It was a flashy presentation of the film’s theme, but effective. “Ballistic” covers some of the same ground, only writer/director Chad Faust is going the gut-rot route with the endeavor, following the agony of a mother who’s lost her son to a bullet created where she works. The screenplay intends to hit hard with its examination of unbearable grief, and Faust has a committed actress in Lena Headey, who delivers burning work portraying a person with no healthy outlet for their pain. “Ballistic” is being sold as an actioner, but it’s not that. It’s more of a tough drama with interesting emotions to inspect and a sharp message to share on the maddening ways of the world. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Peter Farrelly won two Academy Awards for co-writing and co-producing 2018’s “Green Book.” Now he’s making a movie about two condom salesman running for their lives after disturbing a soccer match in Brazil. The “Green Book” glow didn’t last long for the lone Farrelly Brother, as Peter burned off industry good will quickly, returning to the raunchy comedies he’s typically known for in 2024’s “Ricky Stanicky,” and he continues his career retreat with “Balls Up,” joining writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (“Deadpool,” “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t”) in an exploration of South American panic. There’s a lot of Farrelly Brothers-style extremity in the feature, as the helmer seeks to shock with cartoon-y situations of self-preservation. Laughs aren’t welcome here, as “Balls Up” reeks of desperation, finding the production determined to make something outrageous, not necessarily funny, following tedious Farrelly formula for the entire run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Fresh off of 2025’s “Relay,” director David Mackenzie returns with another thriller concerning criminal entanglements and focus on their methods. “Fuze” comes from screenwriter Ben Hopkins, who looks to provide a slow crawl of tension with the picture, exploring a troubling situation of safety as a World War II-era bomb is discovered in London, and the crew of criminals using the distraction to collect a fortune from an unattended bank. There are two sides of duty to follow in the film, and for the first half of the offering, Mackenzie delivers an involving viewing experience tracking the evolution of the central crime. “Fuze” doesn’t sustain early intrigue, eventually getting a little lost in plot turns and a fruitless quest for a satisfying ending, but it begins with enthusiasm, examining pressures facing the bomb squad and the crooks as both sides fight to complete their missions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Cal McMau makes his directorial debut with “Wasteman,” electing to examine a grim tale of submission from screenwriters Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran. It’s a prison picture, and one that doesn’t visit the outside world, committed to exploring claustrophobic spaces with intense characters feeling out the limits of power and fear. While such a setting and story isn’t exactly new to the big screen, “Wasteman” locates ways to make such misery feel fresh again, delving into the complications of the central situation while McMau focuses on faces, capturing intensity of thought as trouble comes for everyone in the endeavor. The helmer also has the benefit of an excellent cast, with stars David Jonsson and Tom Blyth maintaining incredible presence in the offering, nailing nuance as McMau creates a peek into a hellish experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bob Odenkirk enjoyed a career detour when he elected to become an action star in 2021’s “Nobody.” The picture found an audience, inspiring the star to try tough guy business once again for 2025’s “Nobody 2,” which didn’t attract the same level of appreciation. Instead of returning to kill ‘em all territory with another one-man-army offering of ultraviolence, Odenkirk tries on a Clint Eastwood-style part in “Normal,” which is scripted by Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three “John Wick” chapters and the two parts of “Nobody,” making him intimately familiar with the ways of middle-aged men refusing to stand down when trouble increases for them. Odenkirk is less of a killing machine in the feature, and Kolstad tries to shake things up by setting the endeavor in small town Minnesota, giving the characters cold and isolation to experience before everyone attempts to murder one another in this entertaining but slight examination of gunfights and dead bodies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Tommy Wirkola specializes in violent content, often sold with a side of silliness to help create exaggerated genre entertainment. He’s previously helmed “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” and “Violent Night,” and he now he takes on the wrath of killer sharks in “Thrash,” pitting a handful of South Carolina locals trying to survive a hurricane against the arrival of aquatic predators looking for something to eat. Wirkola returns to his Sam Raimi-inspired ways in the endeavor (2019’s Raimi-produced hit, “Crawl,” is surely the reason why this movie was made), and he manages to score a few reasonably exciting set pieces along the way, focusing on physical stunts and the chaotic atmosphere of the storm. However, when characters start speaking, “Thrash” (which was shot two years ago) takes a huge dive, with Wirkola delivering painfully clunky dialogue and crude exposition, taking the fun factor out of the viewing experience as stupidity begins to dominate the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actor Jonah Hill made his directorial debut with 2018’s “Mid90s,” finding inspiration from youthful days of camaraderie and social group exploration, making an appealingly loose picture. He returned with the documentary “Stutz,” highlighting his relationship with his therapist, and Hill returns to psychological matters in “Outcome,” which takes a look at a Hollywood star enduring a personal crisis after decades of life in the public eye. Hill co-scripts with Ezra Woods, and he appears to be pursuing a special emotional journey with the endeavor, which touches on the process of making amends and testing the power of honesty with others. It’s also a profane, riff-happy comedy, with Hill’s initial intent for the offering extremely confusing. His message is lost in a painfully unfunny and unenlightening feature, as “Outcome” (which was shot two years ago) fumbles its potential from the opening scene, sending viewers through a baffling study of recompense and silliness with an all-star cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Halle Bailey made her starring debut in 2023’s live-action “The Little Mermaid,” and she made a positive impression, giving the heavily criticized endeavor a big heart and substantial charm, capably carrying the effort with her presence. She’s appeared in a few other projects since then (“The Color Purple,” “The Line”), but she returns to a starring role in “You, Me & Tuscany,” which is meant to be a romantic comedy concerning a young, wayward woman and her various entanglements while trying to experience the pleasures of Italy. Bailey is joined by co-star Rege-Jean Page, and the pair is tasked to bring something sparkly to the feature, which is scripted by Ryan Engle (“Rampage,” “The Commuter,” “Non-Stop”) and directed by Kat Corio. Unfortunately, there’s nothing special about “You, Me & Tuscany,” which is as routine a movie as can be made, offering viewers little enchantment while Bailey and Page attempt to survive a picture that doesn’t ask much of their talents. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John C. Reilly only works sporadically these days, and he hasn’t spent much time on the big screen in recent years, with his last starring role dating back to 2018’s “Holmes and Watson.” He returns in “Heads or Tails,” portraying Buffalo Bill Cody in an Italian production from co-writer/directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, who attempt to merge wild west fantasy with spaghetti western traditions in an askew character study about outlaws on the run. Reilly brings needed color to the endeavor, offering a memorable take on Cody’s theatrical ways, and acting in general is quite strong in the picture, which highlights a number of itchy performances. “Heads or Tails” has texture, and there’s an interestingly twisty tale to follow, but the helmers aren’t terribly focused on pacing, leaving the viewing experience lumpy as adventure is repeatedly interrupted by screen stillness, losing early momentum. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Kristoffer Borgli is the creator of strange movies. He’s a director known for his work on 2022’s “Sick of Myself” and 2023’s “Dream Scenario,” dabbling in indie film oddity featuring abrasive, troubled characters stuck in upsetting situations of their own making. Borgli takes a few steps toward the mainstream with “The Drama,” but he hasn’t abandoned his fondness for uncomfortable situations, scripting another tale of psychological implosion that follows all the trouble that arrives for an engaged couple after the bride-to-be confesses a grim secret right before their wedding day. “The Drama” has its moments of seriousness, but it’s mostly a dark comedy about the processing of disturbing information, with Borgli looking to extend the torment of a groom who suddenly knows too much about his partner for as long as possible. There’s a limit to this type of endeavor, but the material hits most of its targets, successfully getting outrageous without spilling over into crude hysterics. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1978’s “Faces of Death” is largely appreciated as one of the most notorious cult films around. The faux documentary about real-life murders and disasters earned a mighty reputation as a “dare you to watch” title, tempting horror fans and sleepovers with its presentation of gore and macabre situations. The original release launched a franchise that petered out after the seventh chapter of the series was issued in 1999, but the brand’s legacy hasn’t completely faded from view. Enter co-writer/director Daniel Goldhaber (“How to Blow Up a Pipeline”), who elects to celebrate the intimidating atmosphere of the original endeavor with “Faces of Death,” which isn’t a remake, but more of a riff on the 1978 picture, using its special way with evil to inspire a new slasher offering that plays into our world of social media-led desensitization. Goldhaber doesn’t craft a particularly dominating genre experience, but he captures some sinister business with the effort, which carries an effective sense of dread and a feeling of encroaching madness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Exit 8” is an adaptation of a 2023 video game, which offered players a chance to experience a special kind of disorientation with its first-person perspective and maze-like construction. Bringing the gaming experience to the screen provides co-writer/director Genki Kawamura with a tough creative challenge, tasked with preserving the concept of the game while finding ways to flesh it out some, giving viewers a different kind of exploratory event. “Exit 8” is largely contained to the seemingly endless hallways of a Japanese train station, but the script tries to offer a more dramatic understanding of panic and confusion. There’s obvious repetition in play, and the limitations of the basic idea driving the story are found, but Kawamura creates a strikingly cinematic tour of madness at times, working with excellent technical achievements and nicely rattled acting to help explore this unique puzzle. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actress Katarina Zhu makes her feature-length directorial debut with “Bunnylovr,” going the micro-indie route with her examination of loneliness and the sex worker experience. Zhu also handles the screenplay as well as starring in the picture, giving her a level of creative control to help explore a strange cinematic space involving the intimate experiences of someone who deals with intimate experiences for a living. “Bunnylovr” doesn’t develop into anything more than study of bizarre tensions and longing, and Zhu doesn’t pump the feature up with dramatics, showing no interest in going bigger with the endeavor. Instead, she settles on a few scenes of human connection that carry unusual atmosphere at times, helping the effort achieve stretches of seduction and anxiety that offer Zhu as a promising young filmmaker to watch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was treated like an event film release. Here, at last, was an animated production looking to please the hardcore Nintendo fanbase, giving them exactly what they want after 1993’s live-action “Super Mario Bros” left the faithful puzzled and tremendously disappointed in a pass to make something incredibly odd with a seemingly easy lay-up moviemaking opportunity. Illumination endeavored to play it safe with a softer, colorful adaptation, and the house of “Minions” was rewarded with a massive box office success. And now there’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” with the sequel setting out to generate an even larger world for the main characters to explore, putting directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic to work stuffing in as many Nintendo cameos and environments as possible, setting the series up to explode with spin-offs and continuations galore. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” remains action-packed and vibrantly animated, but there’s new heaviness in play as the endeavor gets carried away selling a brand instead of telling a story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When one encounters a title like “Eat Pray Bark,” a certain type of movie immediately comes to mind. And co-writer/director Marco Petry is perfectly happy to deliver such a viewing experience, going big hearted and puddle deep with the offering, which follows the concerns and confusion of travelers looking to make sense of pet behavior with help from a special trainer. The picture intends to be a comedy, soaking up character quirks and strange situations in the Tyrolian mountains, but the German production isn’t fully prepared to deliver laughs. Petry offers a lighter touch instead, going very easy on the senses with mild dramatic entanglements and personal issues. “Eat Pray Bark” isn’t something that demands attention, but for viewers interested in a gentle distraction partially highlighting the world of canine behavior, this is at least a capably acted feature, and some of the open world locations can’t be beat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s evidence in “Wardriver” that screenwriter Daniel Casey (“Kin,” “F9: The Fast Saga”) is greatly inspired by the films of Michael Mann and the surprising success of 2011’s “Drive.” He’s created another criminal creature of the night, and one who’s skilled in the way of computer crimes, using his car as a kind of hacking station, putting the character on the move as he goes about his dirty business. The writing looks to provide a bumpy road of lustful interests and underworld entanglements, putting director Rebecca Thomas (a television vet) to work generating a cool sense of mystery and movement for the picture. It’s all been done before, but “Wardriver” handles well during its first half, creating a tight space of trouble for the players in the game, and technological additions are interesting, providing a fresh reminder that online security is often no security at all. The endeavor loses a lot of potency as it unfolds, but Casey and Thomas get halfway there with the film, generating proper mood and threat before most of it melts away. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Mukunda Michael Dewil specializes in low-budget filmmaking, previously helming pictures such as “The Immaculate Room,” “Vehicle 19,” and 2024’s “Prey.” He returns to limited scope and low stakes in “The Patient,” challenged to make a thriller that takes place almost entirely inside a single hospital room. There’s potential in close-quarters tension, especially when elements of confusion are introduced via a character’s brain injury, sending him into war with his own mind as Dewil explores the messiness of memory. “The Patient” doesn’t aspire to reach Hitchcockian highs with its premise, and while Dewil scores some early interest in the central medical bed crisis, he doesn’t sustain it past the opening act, running out of things to do before the effort reaches an anticlimactic ending. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sylvain Chomet is best known as the writer and director of the French animated film, “The Triplets of Belleville,” which managed to charm art house audiences in 2003. He’s returned on occasion, with 2010’s “The Illusionist” and he tried live-action moviemaking on for size in 2013’s “Attila Marcel,” but Chomet falls back into animation with “A Magnificent Life.” And it’s a personal story as well, using colorful artistry to bring the life and times of French playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol to the screen. It’s an usual choice for a bio-pic viewing experience, but Chomet has his passion for the subject, endeavoring to push past reputation and work to better understand the man’s drive to create and endure adversity. “A Magnificent Life” is a gorgeously crafted effort, but it’s extremely specific in its fandom, with Chomet charting the growth of creative expression and emotional challenges, but he struggles to get his arms around the “true story,” offering a picture that’s always appreciable but only periodically illuminating. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com