In 2005, writer/director Thomas Bezucha brought “The Family Stone” to screens. Pre-release anticipation was limited, with the feature sold as yet another dysfunctional holiday gathering comedy. Once the picture made it to theaters, it revealed itself to be a deeply moving study of character and emotion, overcoming its gaudy “wrapping” to be a perennial Christmas Day watch for many fans. “Let Him Go” has the same issue, sold as a stern revenge story concerning a custody entanglement between midwestern families, only Bezucha isn’t making that movie. He’s more interested in the feelings and frustrations involved in the fight, spotlighting the relationships in play as longstanding unions are tested in full. “Let Him Go” is an examination of marriage and parenthood, and the helmer takes his time with this adaptation of a Larry Wilson novel. The reward for patience is a chance to spend time with richly defined characters, outstanding performances, and, when the moment comes, exquisite suspense. Once again, Bezucha surprises in the best possible way with one of 2020’s best films. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The plight of the working mother is taken to the extreme in “Proxima,” which highlights one woman’s quest to preserve her dream of becoming an astronaut while managing the needs of her young daughter. It’s a common tale of stress and perceived defeat handed fascinating magnification by co-writer/director Anna Winocour, who contrasts the bigness of the job with the routine of care, exploring all the anxieties and concerns that come with the position of raising a tiny human while detailing the growth of a space explorer. “Proxima” doesn’t entertain melodrama, with Winocour preferring to study the pain of dual responsibilities, maintaining compassion for both sides of the domestic arrangement with a balanced screenplay. She cares for the characters, and the heartache and admiration shows in the picture, which spotlights a trip to the stars, but remains refreshingly earthbound when it comes to human response. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

And you thought you were having a bad day. Imagine being one of the characters in “Triggered,” waking up after being gassed, realizing that a special bomb-laden vest has been strapped to your body, ready to explode at any moment, made part of a sick game. And then imagine being an actor in the picture, forced to madly improv your way through a wafer-thin script by David D. Jones (in his first produced work) while director Alastair Orr (“House on Willow Street,” “Indigenous”) forgoes the arrangement of shots, preferring to treat the camera like a kickball in an attempt to create visual energy out of next to nothing. And then imagine watching the feature, which is absurdly coarse for no reason, filled with poorly realized characters and a half-baked premise, often teasing the idea of becoming a parody of a horror film before it suddenly snaps back to being serious. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s nothing in “Jungleland” that hasn’t been seen before. It’s another tale of boxing involving distressed characters, with a central sibling relationship that brings nothing but misery to the both of them. Co-writer/director Max Winkler (“Ceremony,” “Flower”) thinks he has a version of “The Fighter” on his hands, but “Jungleland” isn’t that passionate about personality and working-class blues. It’s riddled with cliché and oddly managed, while miscasting is a consistent issue with the feature, tasking a trio of English talent to inhabit participants setting out on the warped new way to the American Dream. Winkler tries to keep “Jungleland” meaningful and gritty, but there’s little presented here that’s sincere, with the movie extremely comfortable with formula, diluting intended power. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s hard to believe “Napoleon Dynamite” came out 16 years ago, offering a quirky take on outcast glory, sold with suffocating idiosyncrasy, which helped the feature dominate pop culture conversations for the rest of the year. Writer/star Christina Parrish and director David Howe hope to bathe in the same murky waters of peculiarity and emphasis with “Call Me Brother,” which plays like a tribute to the inexplicably beloved Jared Hess picture, delivering a short amount of time with very odd people as they struggle with basic human behaviors. Parrish gives the material considerably more sexuality, enjoying the awkwardness of teenage lust, but she doesn’t do much else with the effort, which isn’t big on story and can’t decide if it wants to be funny or disturbing, often electing to be both at the same time, which isn’t a good idea for such a thinly conceived endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writers Joe Marcantonio and Jason McColgan try to summon the spirit of early Polanksi with “Kindred,” which shares a great deal in common with “Rosemary’s Baby” and a few other paranoid offerings from the director. Marcantonio also makes his feature-length helming debut with the endeavor, aiming to give the audience a deliberately paced ride of panic and despair, hoping to reach a dark psychological space with the movie, which deals intimately with imprisonment and manipulation. “Kindred” isn’t a particularly long picture, but it could still do with another editorial pass, with Marcantonio trying a bit too hard to prove himself with dreamscape imagery and prolonged suspense, missing a chance to manufacture an impressive nail-biter with real snowballing potential. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, “Brightburn” attempted to subvert the superhero cinema norm, taking the low-budget route to detail the creation of a supervillain in a real-world setting. It had the right idea, tweaking “Superman” formula, but the execution was off, resulting in a lumpy mess of comic book worship and horror interests. “Mortal” isn’t the same movie, but the Norwegian production has a similar plan to position the incredible in the middle of the mundane, turning attention to Norse mythology for a twisted take on an origin story. Andre Ovredal, director of “Trollhunter” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” offers a far more enigmatic and interesting version for superhuman distress with “Mortal,” impressively managing the strange and the electrifying with an unusual exploration of one man’s traumatic awakening to a possible god-like future. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1996, “The Craft” managed to surprise Hollywood by becoming the number one movie at the box office during its opening weekend, exposing an audience for a female-led, teen-centric chiller. The picture went on to develop a loyal cult following, and for a good reason, as the feature understood adolescent concerns and high school issues while mixing in wish-fulfillment elements before the whole thing was turned over to horror. “The Craft” worked. “The Craft: Legacy” does not, with writer/director Zoe Lister-Jones (“Lola Versus”) put into a position of remaking the original effort while also sequelizing it, often missing the point of the 1996 endeavor as she tries to recapture its sense of mystery and friendship. “The Craft: Legacy” is limp and misguided, sure to leave fans disappointed after a 24-year-long wait for a follow-up, while newcomers to this universe are only receiving a surface understanding of Wiccan mischief. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Come Play” began life as “Larry,” a short film from writer/director Jacob Chase. It was a five-minute-long calling card for horror moviemaking, following a parking lot attendant’s experience with a special monster from an app-based storybook who’s looking for companionship with or without permission from its victim. The effort paid off for Chase, who’s now in command of “Come Play,” tasked with taking a small-scale idea and turning it into a 90-minute-long horror experience for a PG-13 audience. Such an endeavor requires a substantial upgrade in plot and character, and while Chase is eager to assemble a frightening viewing experience, his screenplay falls short in many areas, and his liberal lifting from other genre offerings doesn’t magically bring his work to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Spell” is a film that appears to know what it wants to do to frighten its audience, at least during its first hour. The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (who recently wrote the “Point Break” and “Total Recall” remakes, also the director of “Ultraviolet”) delivers a compelling introduction to an unfolding nightmare, mixing elements of voodoo and cult violence to establish an economical chiller that largely takes place in a single room. Wimmer isn’t known for nuance, and “Spell” doesn’t deliver it, which is generally a good thing when dealing with B-movie agony, keeping things ugly and disturbing. The picture eventually abandons a creeping sense of doom as it works toward a conclusion that’s more Fred Williamson than freak-out, but for an extended period of time, the endeavor has some imagination for nasty business, giving viewers a claustrophobic sense of horror involving the deep south and fantasy powers. It’s a shame it doesn’t end there. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Holidate” is written by Tiffany Paulsen, who previously scripted the 2007 “Nancy Drew” update and the 2016 remake of “Adventures in Babysitting.” She was also an actress for a few years, appearing as Suzi in the best “Friday the 13th” sequel of 1989, “Jason Takes Manhattan.” Paulsen has an idea with “Holidate,” looking to make a bitter version of a Hallmark Channel production, complete with R-rated shenanigans and rough language, trying her best to create an edgy take on known entertainment. Well, Paulsen’s not exactly putting in an effort with the movie, starting with a perfectly reasonable gimmick before she wears it down with consistently lame jokes and characterizations. The idea here is to create a romantic comedy that touches on all the holidays, providing a full calendar of funny business. Only Paulsen doesn’t land anything with authority, often going crude because it’s too much work to be clever. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com