B.J. Novak is a celebrated comedian, author, and a cast member on “The Office,” which, according to the internet, is the greatest television show of all time. He’s hunting for a new challenge with “Vengeance,” making his directorial debut with his take on American characters and podcast culture, also working in a murder mystery at times. Novak also writes and stars in the feature, accepting an enormous amount of responsibility to deliver a tightly constructed whodunit with heavy presence of a Texas insanity. Novak gets most of the way there with “Vengeance,” which pieces together rather cleanly for its first two acts, delivering a rich sense of personality and dramatic purpose, even when the story is uncomfortably similar to the hit show, “Only Murders in the Building.” The helmer can’t stick the landing, but Novak offers amusingly exaggerated observations and behaviors with the film, which remains an engrossing sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making fun of social media influencers is easy, with this world already flooded with such extreme personalities, it doesn’t take much to identify the cartoonish ways of the subculture. “Not Okay” could go for simple laughs, but writer/director Quinn Shephard hunts for a darker tone with the picture, exploring the depths of self-delusion and desperation required to make it big with followers, freebies, and access. She has a sharp idea for extremity, following a character’s evolution when a white lie develops into a major change of status, taking her on a journey of exposure and admiration she’s never earned. There’s a roller coaster ride of black comedy for the taking in “Not Okay,” but Shephard isn’t committed to making a barbed film, instead looking for a more emotionally driven study of a fragile mind coming into contact with authenticity that’s alien to her experience. Such an approach supports dramatic intentions, but Shephard is much better off poking fun at the excesses and vanity of the ego-driven universe. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Lena Dunham made an impression with her 2010 movie, “Tiny Furniture,” joining the indie film scene with her version of a Woody Allen picture, examining the neurotic and unwell with her own sense of humor and love of awkwardness. Dunham went on to create the television show “Girls,” keeping her busy for many years, but now she’s back on the screen with “Sharp Stick,” which carries a similar atmosphere as “Tiny Furniture,” but remains more focused on shock value and strange behaviors. The new endeavor, her first feature-length directorial outing in 12 years, certainly has the vibe of a creator unsure what to do with the material, presenting a series of unfinished thoughts with “Sharp Stick,” which delivers a few moments of fascinating mental health disasters, but not much else. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Billy Porter is a force of nature. He’s found incredible success in front of the camera, recently stealing scenes in “Cinderella,” and now he’s taking his energy behind one, making his directorial debut with “Anything’s Possible.” Porter’s habitual flamboyance is injected into a teen movie written by Ximena Garcia Lecuona, and one that rides the line between an average study of adolescent love during the pressures of senior year performance and a look at the caution that arises when it comes to the complications of attraction. “Anything’s Possible” isn’t interested in a melodramatic examination of gender and hallway power plays, with Porter trying to capture the thrill of attraction and all the challenges it requires. The material attempts to represent a more inclusive vision of romance and relationships, and while formula is often present to get from one side of the story to the other, Porter and Lecuona stay positive and respectful with this examination of self-esteem. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Jordan Peele has a particular way of making a movie. He’s scored commercial and critical hits with his previous endeavors, “Get Out” and “Us,” beguiling viewers with his vision for strange experiences happening to real people. He’s working with genre entertainment to deliver his take on the world and its residents, showing the most interest in the black experience. With “Nope,” Peele inches away from social commentary, playing more with the bewitching magic of filmmaking itself, digging into history and technology as he returns to the comfort zone of the unknown and the threatened. Much like his other two efforts, “Nope” has moments of greatness, but the picture struggles to get past Peele’s directorial fetishes, keeping the endeavor unsteady as it shares an interesting and unusual study of the traditional flying saucer feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a band raging since the mid-1980s, Gwar is an acquired taste. They’ve been shredding faces and staining t-shirts for decades, making occasional appearances in pop culture before returning to the low-paying comfort of cult fame. The sound of the band isn’t easy to share with others, but their history is a remarkably knotted study of interpersonal relationships and business ethics, with Gwar almost in a constant state of change. And yet, they’re still around, perhaps just to irritate their critics, and such a tumultuous history is recalled in “This is Gwar,” with director Scott Barber (“The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story”) assembling an overview of artistic intent, ear-splitting sound, and onstage gore. It’s a deep dive into the foundation and endurance of Gwar, who’ve been through quite a lot while trying to give their fans the messiest, most horrifically violent entertainment imaginable, because that’s what the public needs. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It hasn’t been easy for filmmakers to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a subject for riveting cinema, and most of these features have failed either financially or creatively. It’s a storyteller’s mission to deconstruct a complex situation of divide and fear, but this particular public health emergency needs more time to marinate, allowing for some much-needed perspective when it comes to replicating an often frightfully dire situation of community support. “Alone Together” is the second directorial effort from star Katie Holmes (2016’s “All We Had” being her debut), and she hopes to supply some needed understanding of psychology and human connection with her take on the early days of lockdown life. We’ve been here before, most recently in 2021’s “Together,” and Holmes (who also scripts) has her heart in the right place with this tender exploration of attraction, but she doesn’t have much else to support an overlong endeavor that’s not terribly gripping to begin with. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” hasn’t enjoyed the smoothest ride to a release. The picture was initially put into production over seven years ago, conceived as an animated tribute to Mel Brooks’s “Blazing Saddles,” only with a samurai setting featuring a cast of animated cats and dogs. Production issues were plentiful, with the project coming to a full stop more than once due to money issues (the movie opens with a very long list of financial partners), taking the long way to completion. And now the feature is finished, and it’s certainly not a disaster, with directors Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier, and Rob Minkoff trying to make something happen with a blend of slapstick comedy and sword-swinging action. “Paws of Fury” is occasionally energized, but select scenes of entertainment can’t support a largely mediocre offering of silliness. It’s not offensive, just forgettable, missing a special quality to keep the excitement going long after the film ends. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com