As everyone knows, Buzz Lightyear is a character from the “Toy Story” franchise, with his stern, slightly clueless militaristic style acting as a perfect foil for his cowboy pal, Woody. “Lightyear” isn’t a solo picture for the Space Ranger, and it’s not a prequel to “Toy Story.” Opening information positions this endeavor as the film Andy saw in 1995 that made him go crazy for the toy, giving him a movie adventure to trigger his imagination and tax his mother’s bank account. It’s an incredibly odd way to set-up a semi-origin story for the character, but this weirdness is just the taste of the bizarre happenings in the effort, which turns to time travel as a way to complicate Buzz’s experience with exploration and rescue. “Lightyear” remains in step with Pixar Animation storytelling formula, but they make some unexpectedly knotted choices with the screenplay, potentially keeping it just out of reach for younger audiences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two titans of the Spanish film industry, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas haven’t spent much time together in front of a camera. In fact, in 2019’s “Pain and Glory,” writer/director Pedro Almodovar used time to keep them apart, creating a divide as generations worked out the troubles in their lives. For “Official Competition,” Banderas and Cruz are face-to-face, joined by co-star Oscar Martinez in this comedy about the insanity of movie actors and directors and their ludicrous requirements when it comes to preparing a feature for production. It’s a send-up of egos and irritation, but writer/directors Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat don’t go broad with the material, trying to be sneaky with their sense of humor, going sly when it comes to making fun of the process. “Official Competition” is hilarious and refreshingly simple, giving the cast room to play as they inhabit insufferable people trying to make magic for the camera, learning to loathe one another during the ramp-up to the first day of shooting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Joseph Kosinski has exclusively made large-scale movies during his career. He’s taken on the Grid (“Tron: Legacy”), dealt with the future (“Oblivion”), celebrated firefighting heroism (“Only The Brave”), and recently restored the world’s need for speed (“Top Gun: Maverick”). He has an eye for spectacle, but his latest, “Spiderhead,” doesn’t carry the potential for explosive visuals. It’s a chiller and character study that largely takes place inside a single building, with writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese adapting a short story about the pressures of manipulation and submission inside a prison engaging in chemical modifications of human behaviors. The feature is mostly about disturbing mind games and quieter moments of connection, and Kosinski handles it exceptionally well, carefully constructing a suspenseful and fascinating examination of control, putting his faith into casting to summon a heavy level of unease. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Father of the Bride” was originally a 1949 novel by Edward Streeter, but it’s much better known as a 1950 film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy. There was a 1991 version of the original story as well, with Steve Martin hired to play a dad trapped between duties tied to his daughter nuptials and his true feelings about the whole affair, caught up in the whirlwind of spending and planning. Both features did quite well with the central concept, finding humor in different ways as they dealt with separate eras of parenthood. It worked twice, so why not again, with the new “Father of the Bride” stripping away everything but the basic concept of paternal panic, with Andy Garcia tasked to portray the eponymous character, who faces slightly different challenges of stability in this cozy, amusing third at-bat for the brand name. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Phantom of the Open” explores the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, who experienced a vocational epiphany in 1975, looking to become a professional golfer in his mid-40s, despite never having played the game before. It was an obsession that brought him to the qualifying round of the 1976 British Open, where he shot a score of 121, with many labeling him the worst golfer in the history of the sport. The material (an adaptation of a 2010 biography by Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby, who also provides the screenplay) is ripe for a mockumentary-type of approach, but director Craig Roberts (“Just Jim,” “Eternal Beauty”) doesn’t take the bait, preferring to be sincere with this study of tattered dreams, blending inherent comedy concerning Maurice’s lack of natural talent with a more heartwarming understanding of his family life, ultimately working towards sweetness, which is unexpected and not always welcome in this entertaining study of determination and delusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two years ago, Cooper Raiff made his feature-length directing debut with “Shithouse.” It was an awful title slapped on a sensitive story of loneliness and human connection, identifying the young filmmaker as someone to watch. Raiff has returned with “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” which continues his career interest in bad titles for decent movies, providing a puzzling label for an intimate tale of a twentysomething man trying to figure out the world at a most emotionally complex time in his life. Raiff has a way with the softer side of characterization and interactions, endeavoring to create a study of confusion and defense mechanisms slowly lowered by the sheer power of attraction. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” isn’t anything too distinct, but it carries itself with confidence and Raiff has a troubling-yet-wonderful way of steering his writing right into cliché, only to dodge disaster at the last second, adding a few surprises along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Brian and Charles” was initially introduced to movie fans in 2017, with director Jim Archer and screenwriters David Earl and Chris Hayward creating a short film about a lonely Welsh man who constructs a robot out of household items to become his companion, though the relationship quickly transforms into something more parental. There was potential to develop the production, and now there’s a feature-length endeavor from the trio, who work to give “Brian and Charles” a fresh start on the big screen. It’s an oddball concept, but well cared for in the hands of Earl and Hayward, who also star as the eponymous duo, bringing a special life to the effort, which is sold as something goofy in the first act, only to reveal an unexpected sweetness, along with a terrific sense of humor. Archer pumps the picture full of charm and maintains timing, making it a rare success when translating a small idea into something bigger, without losing its inherent appeal. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Movies rarely detail the lives of women of a certain age, and sexuality seems to be strictly off-limits unless used in a cartoonish way or deployed as a cruel punchline. “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” hopes to change this perception in some small way, presenting a story of a woman trying to work past decades of insecurity and fear, hoping to embark on a carnal adventure with a younger man capable of providing an hour or two of excitement, which she has never experienced before. Screenwriter Katy Brand goes to places few other productions go, looking to be sensitive yet open about the mysteries of behavior and doubt when dealing with the business of pleasure, using a potentially uncomfortable situation between a prostitute and client to explore raw emotions as games of conversation commence. “Leo Grande” isn’t exactly captivating, as director Sophie Hyde is basically making a filmed play, but there’s vulnerability presented here that’s remarkable to behold at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriters Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott (“Another Cinderella Story,” “Deep Blue Sea 2”) make a very specific choice to use the experience of postpartum depression to inspire their horror endeavor, “Abandoned.” It’s nothing new for the genre to pull elements of real-world despair to fuel a cinematic experience about the feeling of hopelessness, but it takes a truly gifted storyteller to pull off such a tonal high-wire act. Patterson and Scott aren’t the pair to generate a deep understanding of pain while creating opportunities for frights, making “Abandoned” a troubling picture to watch in ways its creators likely didn’t intend. A genuine fear factor isn’t conjured during the excessive run time, with most of the effort devoted to scenes of distress, while the central mystery is a fairly bland understanding of supernatural influence. The project has a potent idea for an honest study of pain, but the production isn’t brave enough to do something different with all the crushing darkness it collects. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2015’s “Jurassic World” was a major production, but its success wasn’t guaranteed, arriving 14 years after the “Jurassic Park” series petered out. The feature was hoping to reignite interest in the world of dinosaurs and DNA headaches, to see if viewers were still open to watch CGI-laden chaos featuring fearsome beasts. The experiment worked, with audiences making it the highest-grossing installment of the series, giving the brand name a fresh sense of urgency. It wasn’t the most creatively daring effort, but “Jurassic World” was tremendous fun and visually arresting, setting up a new trilogy focusing on the trials of a planet inhabited by both dinosaurs and humans. 2018’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” inched the series in this direction, trying out different locations and stakes to maintain dramatic momentum. And now “Jurassic World: Dominion” arrives to provide a payoff…but it doesn’t, really, with co-writers Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow (who also returns to direct after his work on “Jurassic World”) keeping things familiar while trying to stage a grand finale. That’s not to suggest “Dominion” is dull, far from it at times, but nostalgia and repetition tend to dominate this endeavor, which goes through the “Jurassic Park” motions, with big dino action always more engaging than the same old war of genetic control. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com