“Marmaduke” has been around for a very long time, originally debuting as a newspaper comic strip in 1954. It’s still around today, charming readers with its depiction of life with a Great Dane and all the impulse control issues such an existence offers. It’s paneled slapstick for a family audience, and Hollywood has tried their luck bringing the character to the screen before, with a 2010 endeavor using Owen Wilson to voice the oversized character. The feature wasn’t a complete debacle, but it failed to provide a reason why Marmaduke should be turned into a movie star. Producers have returned to the material, this time going the CGI-animated route with “Marmaduke,” which hires Pete Davidson to portray the pooch, while directorial duties are handled by the guy who made 1997’s “Spawn.” So yeah, this whole thing is a little weird. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One doesn’t need many reminders when it comes to the power of Charlotte Rampling, with the actress often gravitating to greatly dramatic roles, especially during the last decade, playing characters of power and influence (including fine turns in 2021’s “Dune” and “Benedetta”). “Juniper” initially appears to be another opportunity for Rampling to showcase her skills with quiet stoicism, and there are moments like this in the film. However, writer/director Matthew J. Saville (a longtime actor making his feature-length helming debut) is more interested in the slow cracks of emotion, giving Rampling a part of unusual depth and history, trusting her to flesh out what appears to be a role of simple coldness. “Juniper” has many modest surprises to share, including Rampling’s performance, with Saville constructing a gentle understanding of sadness and human connection, finding little bits of life that add up to an impressively observed picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Shepherd” opens with a quote from Dante’s “Inferno,” which is meant to act as an introduction to the feature and identify what type of experience writer/director Russell Owen is preparing for his audience. He’s created an intensely atmospheric picture that surveys the lasting sting of grief and the corrosive ways of secrets, using a supernatural horror story to explore a deeper understanding of emotional processing. It’s a spooky film with familiar working parts, taking viewers into the mystery of remote Scotland and the confusion of the unreal. Owen makes an initial effort to craft a brain-bleeder, offering strange visuals without much explanation, and “Shepherd” is more engrossing when completely bewildering. When the answers eventually come, in one way or another, Owen can’t handle the burden of explanation, showing more confidence when establishing this foggy realm of sorrow. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriters Sean Wathen, Joshua Dobkin, and Emerson Moore (who also makes his feature-length directorial debut) aren’t presenting an original concept with “Escape the Field,” delivering a strangers-in-dangers tale that’s been explored repeatedly in television shows, adding a puzzling element that’s very close to the recent “Escape Room” films. They do have the mysteries of a maze inside an infinite cornfield, but that sense of unknown danger in the middle of nowhere was examined in 2019’s “In the Tall Grass” (which was based on a Stephen King and Joe Hill novel). Frankly, there’s little originality to “Escape the Field,” which should motivate Moore to really push the suspense factor of the production, giving viewers a wild ride when storytelling isn’t at its freshest. Unfortunately, screen tension is limited in the endeavor, with the writers trying to taffy pull their small ideas for confusion and paranoia into an 80-minute movie that doesn’t amount to much. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a character, Doctor Strange has been very busy recently, making a mess of the multiverse in 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” also dealing with apocalyptic battles in the last two “Avengers” sequels. In “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the Master of the Mystic Arts finally receives a sequel to call his own, following up his introductory adventure from 2016. Change is inevitable, but the production team from the original picture isn’t around for the next chapter, with director Scott Derrickson stepping away from a series he helped to launch, replaced by the legendary Sam Raimi, who hasn’t helmed a feature since 2013’s “Oz the Great and Powerful.” Raimi once created a fierce hero in “Darkman” and crafted some of the best “Spider-Man” movies, making him a natural fit for the material, and writer Michael Waldron gives him a meaty comic book journey to realize. “Multiverse of Madness” improves on its predecessor, and while there are many more dramatic knots to untangle here, there’s some premium Raimi-ness to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, presenting them with their first horror-tinged story that actually feels frightening at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With a low budget, several producers credited, and a supporting turn from Bruce Willis, expectations for “Corrective Measures” are limited at best. We’ve been down this B-movie avenue before, as the material deals with the violence and relationships of prison life involving a handful of aggressive characters. What’s slightly different here is inspiration, as the picture is an adaptation of a graphic novel created by Grant Chastain and Fran Moyano, and the director is Sean Patrick O’Reilly, who’s previously worked in animation, helming cuddly offerings such as “Panda vs. Aliens” and “Go Fish.” He’s not the obvious choice for this sort of hard-edged endeavor, and that’s probably why “Corrective Measures” is a bit more palatable than the competition. It’s no revelation, but as junky, low-tech entertainment goes, O’Reilly is ready to show his stuff, giving the feature occasional bits of personality and performance as the sci-fi concept periodically rises to the occasion, providing a few stretches of excitement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s a special requirement for viewers sitting down to watch “Fortress: Sniper’s Eye.” It’s a challenge unlike anything I’ve come into contact with before, and I hope innocent souls out there don’t have to experience what I have been through. That’s right, I was forced to recall exactly what happened in the original “Fortress.” The feature came out five months ago, and from all accounts, it was universally rejected by audiences, at least those who took the time to sit through an unbearable display of bad acting and worse direction (credited to James Cullen Bressack). There was barely a story, and characterization was even less important to the production, which was mostly interested in showcasing dreary conflicts between blank personalities. “Fortress” was awful, and now it has a twin, with “Fortress: Sniper’s Eye” essentially a remake of the original picture, offering fans(?) another slow ride into pure tedium. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriters Kirsten King and Casey Rackham make their professional debut with “Crush,” which seeks to update the classic American teen comedy for 2022, getting some help on matters of adolescent mishaps from co-producers Chris and Paul Weitz, who, a very long time ago, also worked over the subgenre with “American Pie.” “Crush” strives to make things a bit more current and positive with its depiction of romantic entanglements and sexuality, looking to reach an older teenage audience with some sweetness and silliness, tracking the lead character’s efforts to attract her object of desire’s attention while stumbling into various sticky situations along the way. King and Rackham keep the endeavor mild but appealing, trying to secure the heart of the story to the best of their ability. Director Sammi Cohen offers breezy work, out to preserve sensitivities and comedy, with the latter proving to be a bit of a challenge to the production as melodrama becomes more compelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com