Co-writer/director Clea DuVall attempts to find the real meaning of Christmas with “Happiest Season,” which isn’t quite the festive bonanza it initially appears to be. DuVall and co-writer/co-star Mary Holland only deal with holiday happenings periodically, creating a film that’s more interested in addressing the stress of a closeted life and the pressures of family expectations, using the gentleness of the season to highlight the power of love as it’s tested from all sides. “Happiest Season” is a little unwieldy, with DuVall frequently unsure if she wants to make something wacky or profound, leaving the feature unsteady at times as it samples every mood available. There’s a level of sincerity to sections of the endeavor that keep it alive, feeling as though the writers are pouring their own experiences with coming out into the mix, securing a defined perspective of fear while playing with Christmas movie formula that’s not nearly as compelling as the rest of the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Hillbilly Elegy” is an adaptation of a 2016 memoir by conversative author J.D. Vance, which has developed a fan base on both sides of the political spectrum, with readers beguiled by the writer’s evocation of life in Kentucky and his drive to better himself through experience. And now it’s a film from director Ron Howard, who strives to bring Vance’s education to the screen, with the story offering numerous scenes of tragedy, hostility, and forgiveness, allowing screenwriter Vanessa Taylor a chance to milk charged moments for everything they’re worth. Howard aims for Oscar bait with the endeavor, which delivers a large amount of hysterics from actors who should know better, while the tale of misery turns into punishment for viewers. Netflix didn’t want me to review “Hillbilly Elegy,” and now I understand why. Once again: not every book needs to be a movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After riding an acting career that’s had its ups and downs, Josh Duhamel aims to reclaim some creative power with “Buddy Games,” making his debut as a writer/director. He’s created a raunchy comedy about best friends working things out during a custom competition, doing whatever he can to play into genre trends as he gathers a group of actors to deliver games of improvisation and manage the helmer’s appetite for gross-out situations. “Buddy Games” is a juvenile picture, but that’s Duhamel’s mission, working with WWE studios to manufacture a prime slice of broheim entertainment. That the film is spectacularly unfunny doesn’t seem to stop the production, which is determined to whiff with simple goals, seemingly obsessed to reach the bottom of the barrel when it comes to ideas for silly business. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Fatman” is a Christmas movie that fits the tone of 2020, offering a frequently grim take on the magic of Santa Claus, his north pole operation, and those who feel spurned by the spirit of holiday giving. Writer/directors Eshom and Ian Nelms (“Small Town Crime”) create a dark vision of seasonal concern, but they don’t suffocate the viewer in the process, preserving bits of humor and heart as they construct a different take on holiday figures and iconography. Mel Gibson is hired to portray the titular character, and it’s appropriate casting for the production, which feeds off the star’s sandpaper-like screen presence, giving the helmers permission to take “Fatman” wherever they need to go, keeping things unpredictable and menacing. The feature has its shortcomings, but it’s an appropriate fit for today’s world, mixing simmering rage with a dollop of optimism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1983, ABC produced “The Day After,” a television production that aimed to expose the true savagery of nuclear war for a primetime audience used to dealing with escapism. The gamble paid off for the network, which attracted 100 million viewers the night the movie aired, becoming a hot topic for some time after its debut. “Television Event” is an Australian documentary that looks into the creation of “The Day After,” with director Jeff Daniels (not the actor) detailing the origins and legacy of the project, it’s production issues, and eventual airing, looking to understand how a small but weighty idea to bring global destruction to television screens was actually achieved during the height of a new cold war. Daniels is focused and honest about creative battles and growing network fears, creating a riveting study of a landmark film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world didn’t need more “Kickboxer” sequels, but producer Dimitri Logothetis felt differently, helping to bring 2016’s “Kickboxer: Vengeance” to the screen. Not content to watch from the sidelines, Logothetis assumed directorial command of 2018’s “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” taking control of martial arts action and thickly sliced brutality. Surprisingly, the helmer didn’t tank the assignment, coming up with an impressively violent endeavor that entertained in a way few “Kickboxer” follow-ups have. Now Logothetis turns his attention to “Jiu Jitsu,” which is also an offering of bone-crunching mayhem, this time involving the worlds of comic books and science fiction. It’s a bit a stretch to buy anything “Jiu Jitsu” has to offer, but if you’re a fan of “Predator” and its many sequels, writers Logothetis and Jim McGrath are basically remaking the 1987 offering, skipping on the grit, grunts, and compelling blend of fantasy and intensity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, director Alexandre O. Philippe (“The People vs. George Lucas”) issued “Memory: The Origins of Alien,” which strived to understand the creation of the 1979 horror classic without peeling back all the layers of the filmmaking process. It was an elusive documentary and unsatisfying overall, coming across as more of a college lecture than an unmissable breakdown of production achievements and cultural imprint. Philippe is back with “Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist,” and he’s still in a philosophical mood, attempting to approach an iconic picture from a few different angles, breaking the home video supplement routine. With “Memory,” Philippe had actors, widows, and historians, and he still didn’t manage to get beneath the skin of his subject. With “Leap of Faith,” he has Friedkin, a blunt director who’s always interested in a chance to talk about himself, bringing his distinct personality to the endeavor, with Philippe wisely sticking with his subject, refusing to go elsewhere to analyze the making of 1973’s “The Exorcist.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2018, writer/director Aneesh Chaganty made an industry splash with “Searching,” one of a few computer desktop-based thrillers to pop in in recent years as more and more filmmakers turn to the secrets of technology to inspire chills. “Searching” won praise from audiences and made some money at the box office, proving there was interest in the helmer’s way with tightly confined terror and paranoia. He’s moved past the CPU and cell phones, but Chaganty remains in tight spaces with “Run,” which returns him to the fury of disoriented parents and their concern for children, only here he’s masterminding more of a Hitchcockian viewing experience. The feature only deals with a handful of characters and a situation of domestic clarity, but the production gets the material going with imaginative set pieces and interesting sinister business. It runs out of gas in the final act, but “Run” is quite the ride for its first hour. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a long time since actor Stephen Dorff has delivered an alert performance. He’s been working the B-movie circuit for some time, flirting with a few softer diversions (including Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere”), but he’s mostly stuck with playing hardened guys in criminal situations. For “Embattled,” Dorff is once again tasked with portraying a nasty human being, but the screenplay by David McKenna (“American History X,” “Blow”) doesn’t permit the character to act as flypaper for cliches, putting in the effort to create dimensions for a seasoned MMA fighter struggling with ego and anger issues, gradually recognizing the emptiness of his life. The role is a perfect fit for Dorff, who gives one of his finest performances, and it’s a strong film overall, exploring forms of violence and neglect, but also taking a look at the true formation of masculinity and family. There are plenty of hard hits and trash talking, but “Embattled” goes beyond the sport’s aggression to grasp the wounded hearts in play. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Sound of Metal” began life long ago with director Derek Cianfrance, who was working on an idea concerning a heavy metal drummer experiencing the life-altering event of hearing loss. The concept was eventually gifted to “The Place Beyond the Pines” co-writer Darius Marder, who makes his helming debut with the picture. It’s quite a first shot fired for Marder, who’s searching for a way to communicate one man’s immersion into the deaf community after a life lived with complete loudness and, in some cases, recklessness. There’s frustration to spare in the feature, which is carried by a powerful performance from Riz Ahmed, who’s tasked with turning anger and confusion into a screen journey that offers no easy answers. “Sound of Metal” has restlessness and definite opinions on technology, and when Marder taps into the pure behavior of personal growth, he makes a hypnotic film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Jackie Chan movies produced in China rarely make their way to American theaters anymore, but “Vanguard” is hoping to offer western audiences a little eastern amplification, delivering an impressively action-packed viewing experience starring a man known for his smashmouth entertainment. In reality, Chan takes more of a supporting part in the endeavor, which reunites him with director Stanley Tong, a frequent collaborator, playing a leadership role in a supercop tale that aims to be globetrotting and explosive. The plot is not exactly the priority here (the celebration of Chinese New Year seems to be the production’s goal), providing only some mild complication for what becomes a series of chases involving good guys and bad guys, with Chan popping into view on occasion to slap stuntmen around. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Girl” is a Canadian production about the American deep south. The details of the setting are a little off, but so is everything in film. Writer/director Chad Faust wants to create something noir-ish, with a touch of southern gothic tossed in for taste, but he mostly ends up with a muddled take on fracture family relations with intermittent violence. “Girl” doesn’t have dramatic muscle to lift the endeavor, with Faust stuck going broad to give the picture the emphasis it needs. Instead of creating menace, the effort mostly underwhelms, dealing with hammy performances and static situations, which doesn’t inspire the depiction of mental illness and physical fatigue Faust seems to be reaching for. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com