For the 25th movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the company looks to one of its lesser-known characters to help take the brand name forward. Not that Shang-Chi is an obscure superhero, but he doesn’t quite have the marquee value of previous avengers, presenting a challenge for the production to deliver a memorable introduction for a wide audience. And “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” does just that, presenting an interesting new face on the scene, and the urban and mystical realms he inhabits. Television star Simu Liu gets a critical career at-bat with the eponymous role, and he makes a strong impression, becoming a compelling focal point for the feature while producers fill supporting parts with screen legends, familiar Marvel faces, and comedians, working extra hard to make sure the launch of Shang-Chi goes down smooth with comic book maniacs and the people who love them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Lisa Joy is best known for her television work, producing shows such as “Westworld” and “Burn Notice,” dealing with gritty tales of detective work and future technology. Joy makes her debut as a writer/director with “Reminiscence,” which examines the sci-fi concept of living memories and works them into a hard-boiled tale of sleuthing, but with a more emotional push of lovesickness driving the story. The production offers viewers a new vision of American disaster, with wars destroying society and rising coastal waters increasing desperation, but Joy is also trying to pay tribute to the detective stories of old with “Reminiscence,” and she often fails spectacularly. It’s not easy to craft a twisty plot full of deceptive characters, but the helmer gets lost in her detailed visuals, failing to craft at least a passably compelling mystery for the main character, who’s put through the wringer in the name of love, but it’s difficult to work up the energy to care about any of it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The first half of “Sweet Girl” is as close to a Charles Bronson-starring, 1983 Cannon Films release as we’re bound to get these days. Jason Momoa takes a break from superhero duty to star as a husband and father raging against the cruel business practices of Big Pharma, who hold the key to survival for many sick people, electing to exploit such weakness for maximum profit. It’s a timely subject, sure to keep viewers interested in the beatings to come, but writers Gregg Hurwitz, Will Staples, and Philip Eisner don’t trust the simplicity of such a fight. The trio attempts to transform “Sweet Girl” into something more psychologically unexpected, hoping to challenge cliché while fully indulging in the sticky stuff. There’s fun to be had with the endeavor, but it’s not the head-slapper the screenplay imagines itself to be, doing much better in attack mode, digging into the frustrations of personal loss at the hands of greedy moneymen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Martin Campbell isn’t a director with a particular style, and his commitment to storytelling hasn’t always been stellar. But he’s managed to bang out a career as a man of action, occasionally hitting greatness, including his well-regarded work on the James Bond adventures “GoldenEye” and “Casino Royale.” Still trying to regain his industry footing after the 2011 bomb, “Green Lantern,” Campbell reunites with at least some of his old timing in “The Protégé,” which is an assassin film that doesn’t always want to be an assassin film, periodically working on ways to come at the audience from unexpected directions. Campbell has his set pieces and explosions, but he also has a cast willing to play around with the material, with Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson doing something worthwhile while the feature occasionally struggles to pull itself out of exposition dumps and needlessly twisty plotting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“PAW Patrol” has been a very big deal in the lives of young children since its television debut in 2013. It’s never been one of those pop culture dominating brands, but to a certain audience of a certain age, the show is everything. It’s a little surprising to see it’s taken so long for the producers to take the exploits of the canine rescue team to the big screen, but “PAW Patrol: The Movie” is finally here, and director Cal Brunker isn’t about to waste an opportunity to thrill on a grander cinematic scale, offering an action-packed feature that’s all about the dogs in motion, working to solve problems and save people. The target demographic for this picture will be delighted with every frame of the adventure, but “PAW Patrol: The Movie” isn’t hard on parents and guardians, offering some humor, heart, and enough calamity to engage. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

We haven’t had a slasher film that deals with panic inside a movie theater in some time, making “The Last Matinee” a treat for those who miss such a setting for all kinds of hellraising. A South American production, the picture aims to revive an Italian feel for screen hostility and dark comedy, with co-writer/director Maximiliano Contenti trying to summon the great gods of giallo cinema to help inspire this wonderfully nasty horror offering, which isn’t afraid to spill blood and, well, do a lot more bodily harm during the run time. Contenti doesn’t have much money to create an epic, but he does exceptionally well with a simple chiller concerning a bad night for curious moviegoers in Uruguay. Genre fans should get a kick out of the effort’s grisliness and love for the exhibition business, working with the location to deliver a compelling nightmare. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Night House” is the latest directorial effort from David Bruckner, who’s no stranger to enigmatic tales of suspense and horror, previously helming “The Signal” and “The Ritual.” Bruckner doesn’t stray far from his genre interests for his latest endeavor, delivering a journey into supernatural suspicion with “The Night House,” which combines domestic disturbance cinema with a ghost story of a more reserved nature, handing Bruckner eerie mood to manage. While it initially promises to become an exciting riff on spousal paranoia cinema, the picture only covers a few ideas concerning marital strife before enigmatic events come to claim the viewing experience. Still, Bruckner achieves career-best work here, establishing spookiness and palpable pressure on the lead character, who connects to several brutal realities in this effective chiller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Demonic” marks the return of writer/director Neill Blomkamp, who hasn’t made a feature in six years, last seen with the abysmal “Chappie,” which put his once promising career (which began with 2009’s “District 9”) on hold. Blomkamp made his introduction with a smaller movie that surprised a lot of people, and after time spent playing with large budgets, he’s back to the basics with “Demonic,” which was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring a small-scale story concerning the inner workings of evil. It would be a pleasure to report that the helmer is back on his feet with the picture, but Blomkamp’s latest isn’t that confident. He’s approaching the horrors of demonic possession from a fascinating angle, but the production doesn’t trust its inherent weirdness, gradually offering generic scares and formulaic adversaries. Blomkamp loses his nerve with this one, slowly distancing himself from what actually works in the film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bella Thorne is having her Nicolas Cage moment, working like crazy to participate in as many movies as possible. “Habit” is her fourth film in the last year, and this acting opportunity provides Thorne with a chance to play a conflicted character in the middle of a dire situation of faith and crime. The actual picture doesn’t cut deep with such moral and spiritual complexity, with co-writer/director Janell Shirtcliff trying to manufacture an offering of underground cinema, though she remains uncertain if all this should be played for laughs. There are elements of camp in “Habit” to suggest it’s one big goof, but Thorne doesn’t push the comedy, tasked with becoming the dramatic foundation for an endeavor that’s loosely made, prone to wandering around in a drug-induced haze. Shirtcliff isn’t laboring over storytelling needs here, aiming instead for style, priming her for a big career in music videos. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com