2017’s “Wonder” surprised many when it became a major hit in 2017, with its message of kindness concerning a young boy with a facial deformity connecting to a wide audience eager to enjoy a rare blast of positivity at the multiplex. “The True Adventures of Wolfboy” initially appears to follow the same idea, studying the pains of a 13-year-old kid with a special condition that prevents him from feeling accepted by others. However, after an opening act that seeks to understand the struggle for self-worth and the agony of isolation, “The True Adventures of Wolfboy” becomes overwhelmed with quirk masquerading as a study of liberation. There should be something more to the screenplay by Olivia Dufault, but the writing come up short with meaningful interactions, and director Martin Krejci tends to only deal with cartoonish performances and exaggerated behavior, losing heart along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2006, 20th Century Fox worked extremely hard to make “Borat” something special in the marketplace. They screened the feature like crazy and kept star/creator Sacha Baron Cohen on a relentless publicity tour, laboring to sell an odd character from a cult television show to the masses. The blood, sweat, and tears actually worked, with “Borat” generating enormous word-of-mouth praise and substantial pre-release curiosity, ultimately making a fortune for the studio and turning Cohen into a star, despite his preference for being a chameleon-like performer. Borat impressions were plentiful, DVD sales were astronomical, and Cohen tried his best to burn off his newfound fame with a more pointed exercise in shock value: 2009’s “Bruno.” Now, 14 years later, Cohen returns to his most famous creation (sorry Ali G) for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” with the most famous Kazakhstan reporter returning to duty to achieve a better understanding of 2020 and all the chaos it’s provided. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

This isn’t the first trip to the screen for Roald Dahl’s 1983 book, “The Witches.” In 1990, director Nicolas Roeg and co-producer Jim Henson had their way with the source material, combing nutty Euro filmmaking sensibilities with glorious Henson-y practical magic for their take on evildoing inside a luxury hotel, with mice making life difficult for dangerous witches. It was a very strange adaptation of a very strange book, and now 30 years later director Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Guillermo del Toro try their luck with a second adaptation, and one that’s strictly CGI-heavy in execution. While the thrill of puppetry and makeup effects is gone, the new version of “The Witches” doesn’t take it easy when it comes to the demented activities found in Dahl’s work, and while the endeavor is more adrenalized with chases and near-misses, it remains an entertaining sit for brave young audiences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead won accolades for their tiny 2017 effort, “The Endless,” which the helmers pushed through the system with a DIY attitude, even taking the starring roles. The partners graduate to a more pressurized professional situation with “Synchronic,” a production that offers a little more money for the pair to work with, while luring stars Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan into the main roles. They also return to their brain-bleeding interests in psychedelic cinema, this time exploring the miracle of time travel as found in the formula of a dangerous synthetic drug. “Synchronic” tries to be a visual feast, and it’s most successful there, offering the audience a threatening ride through the bowels of New Orleans and the dangers of the past, with Benson and Moorhead more assured with camerawork than storytelling as the picture periodically loses its way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Holiday movies emerge every year, all questing to be the one chosen for classic status, becoming a perennial choice for viewers in the mood to conjure seasonal feelings via the magic of filmmaking. “Friendsgiving” fails to become anything of note, but it does offer a Thanksgiving atmosphere filled with lots of characters, dysfunction, and slowly eroding patience. Writer/director Nicol Paone goes the improvisational route for her helming debut, and it’s not the best choice, permitting the feature to go slack while it hunts for jokes, abandoning a prime opportunity to sort through emotional baggage and the various anxieties that come with large social gatherings. I’m sure “Friendsgiving” was a hoot to make, putting a collection of actors together to see what sticks, but the fun factor of this production is alarmingly low. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Rebecca” is an adaptation of a 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier, but real ownership of the material tends to belong to Alfred Hitchcock. In 1940, the director delivered a premiere interpretation of the book, finding style and suspense with a movie that went on to collect an Oscar for Best Picture and cement itself as one of the helmer’s finest efforts. Of course, others have had their way with du Maurier’s story, with “Rebecca” enjoying life on stage, television, in song, and the tale has even been expanded in literary sequels. There’s no shortage of visions when it comes this psychological study, which returns to screens courtesy of director Ben Wheatley, who’s not known for his subtle ways with refined horror. If there’s a reason to revisit “Rebecca,” it’s lost in the new version, which puts on a fine display of technical achievements, but offers little life behind the routine of suspicion and torment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Liam Neeson Thriller managed a short break over the last year, with the actor flexing some dramatic muscles again in offerings such as “Ordinary Love” and “Made in Italy.” And he was terrific in those pictures, showcasing renewed interest in playing human beings in various stages of reflection and distress. Neeson returns to paycheck duties for “Honest Thief,” putting him back behind the wheel of a mild actioner involving stolen money, rotten FBI agents, and true love, giving his core demographic a periodically exciting and highly implausible ride. Screenwriters Steve Allrich and Mark Williams (who also directs) try to reinforce the personalities involved in the maze of motivations, and the effort is appealing, adding some spirit to an otherwise generic but easily digestible endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Brian Duffield (who recently served as writer/director of “Spontaneous”) and Matthew Robinson are credited as screenwriters on “Love and Monsters,” but the project has the feel of a graphic novel adaption. The features merges heartsickness felt by the lead character with his quest to cross a dangerous land populated with mutated creatures, using the power of love as the wind in his sails as he endures all types of challenges to his personal safety. The screenplay doesn’t actually have a literary origin, which might’ve come in handy, as “Love and Monsters” eventually loses its way when trying to give audiences a satisfying ending. Thankfully, the first half of the effort does a successful job managing tonal changes and visualizing threat, with director Michael Matthews getting the adventure up on its feet with personality and lively enemy attacks, offing just enough enthusiasm to sustain the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Welcome to the Blumhouse” makes another attempt to turn Blumhouse Productions into a household name for horror. Partnering with Amazon Studios, Blumhouse delivers four films for streaming distribution, looking to clear out a few older titles from the company closet. The fourth offering of the series is “Evil Eye,” another television endeavor that deals with low-wattage scariness, delivering more of a heightened melodrama with a distinct cultural fingerprint. With such an ominous title, one might expect plenty of hellraising in “Evil Eye,” but the picture isn’t interested in overkill, dealing with familial issues that play into ideas on parental concern and Indian mysticism. Directors Elan and Rajeev Dassani aren’t here to pound on viewers, electing to guide a more restrained, slow-burn look at motherly paranoia, filling the effort with superb performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Welcome to the Blumhouse” makes another attempt to turn Blumhouse Productions into a household name for horror. Partnering with Amazon Studios, Blumhouse delivers four films for streaming distribution, looking to clear out a few older titles from the company closet. The third title out of the gate is “Nocturne,” a television movie that attempts to make classical piano playing not exactly terrifying, but at least unnerving. Writer/director Zu Quirke (making her feature-length debut) channels the unease of Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” for “Nocturne,” creating a competition picture that deals mostly with hallucinatory imagery and sisterly bitterness, stuffing in some Deal with the Devil business to keep up with genre demands. It’s not an especially striking effort from Quirke, but she has a decent command of evil influence to keep the endeavor reasonably alert. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Opening Act” comes from writer/director Steve Byrne, a longtime stand-up comedian. Ready to put his early experiences on film, Byrne concocts a small-scale ode the pains of the profession with the feature, calling in every favor possible to fill the endeavor with familiar faces from the scene. Such a lived-in quality helps “The Opening Act” greatly, with Byrne keeping to simple goals of character and mishaps, striving to give the viewer a larger understanding of what the stand-up comedy system is like for a newcomer who hasn’t found their voice yet. Stage time is plentiful in the effort, as are laughs, but the real appeal of the movie is its love for awkward situations, with Byrne creating a positive story about failure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Shithouse” is Cooper Raiff’s debut feature as a writer/director/actor, going the triple threat route to secure as much creative control as possible. He has a lot to learn about editing, characterization, and the power of a good, approachable title that welcomes interest from a wide range of potential viewers. However, for his first at-bat, Raiff does understand unsettled feelings when it comes to a young person’s initial encounter with adulthood, with all the fear and worry that goes along with the journey, especially on a college campus. “Shithouse” (oof) might initially seem coarse and unpleasant, but Raiff is quick to establish a lived-in sensitivity to the endeavor, finding a semi-original take on loneliness and human connection that gives the effort deeper feeling as the story develops. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com