It’s been 12 years since the last proper “Barbershop” sequel was released (a spin-off, “Beauty Shop,” disappointed at the box office in 2005), and nothing much has changed in this cinematic world of gossip, one-liners, and extended debate. And that’s just the way producer/star Ice Cube likes it, keeping to core franchise elements to replicate successes from the last decade. Taking on street violence and family strife, “Barbershop: The Next Cut” is an easily digestible dramedy, though it’s never really all that funny and never as profound as it could be. Still, the formula is successful in stretches, with an ensemble working diligently to revive a dusty atmosphere of camaraderie, giving fans exactly what they want. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Criminal” wants to be a great number of movies, but it never gets anything quite right. Director Ariel Vromen clings tightly to cliché and screen aggression to capture audience attention, masterminding a surprisingly ugly thriller that barely contains any thrills. “Criminal” is a frustrating picture before it transforms into a forgettable one, watching bad actors flounder and good actors wrestle with a terrible screenplay by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, which merges sci-fi make-em-ups with a missing identity plot, and there are touches of terrorism to act as smelling salts for a flatlining production. It’s a big mess of ideas, but Vromen doesn’t know how to line them up properly, finding every new revelation worse than the last. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Disney has returned to Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” a few times. Of course, there’s the 1967 animated classic, which contorted Kipling to create a swinging musical, leading with the hit tune, “The Bare Necessities.” There was a 2002 sequel, and in 1994, the company attempted a live-action version starring Jason Scott Lee as Mowgli, which failed to perform at the box office despite positive reviews. Kipling’s 1894 collection of stories has actually inspired many film and television productions, but none have been as a massive as Disney’s return to the wild with the CGI/live-action take on “The Jungle Book.” Director Jon Favreau utilizes technology, not nature, to inspire this reworking of the ’67 picture, delivering realistic animal interactions and digital environments, laboring to manufacture a world for Mowgli’s mischief instead of finding one on Earth. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“April and the Extraordinary World” is a French production pulled from the imagination of graphic novel artist Jacques Tardi, who hung around to participate in the creation of the film’s look. It’s an oddball animated picture, but often wonderfully so, taking a journey through the decades and visiting different environments, while maintaining an engaging steampunk visual presence that’s vividly communicated. Perhaps it lacks the refinement a large budget provides, but “April and the Extraordinary World” is very good with the unexpected, from plot points to character design. Directors Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci are faced with an adaptation challenge, but they manage to keep the spirit of the source alive, blending in bits of action, humor, and alternate universe invention. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Instead of forging ahead with a bio-pic on the life and times of jazz legend Miles Davis, co-writer/director Don Cheadle takes a small sliver of the musician’s life to explore in “Miles Ahead,” which doesn’t broadcast any type of biographical reality. Instead of a linear dissection of Davis and his rise to fame, the production assumes the shape of jazz, sampling bits of behavior, personal ruin, and music business dealings to put together an idea of Miles Davis. This concept eventually wears out its welcome, but “Miles Ahead” gets surprisingly far on the scattered approach, thanks in great part to Cheadle’s visual ambition with the low-budget effort and his lead performance as Davis, slipping on the skin of a reckless man who also possessed stunning musical vision. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Documentaries about fashion and industry mysteries are all the rage these days, recently explored in films such as “Valentino,” “The September Issue,” and “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s.” “The First Monday in May” continues the journey, but for this round of appreciation, director Andrew Rossi tries to find a way into the artistic process, endeavoring to spotlight the struggles and anxiety that come with the recent consideration of fashion as high art, and not just decoration. “The First Monday in May” isn’t the most focused feature around, but it does manage to grab a peek behind the curtain, observing the herculean effort required to pull off the Met Gala every year. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Working through his interest in playing tortured artists, actor/producer James Franco adds “The Adderall Diaries” to his growing list of mediocre releases featuring characters just a bit beyond his thespian range. Based on the memoir by Stephen Elliott, the feature is a mess of subplots and personalities that demand more screen time than what’s offered by writer/director Pamela Romanowsky (“The Color of Time”), who tries to work in all the themes and kinky detours of the source material without caring for overall narrative flow. It’s disjointed work, cold to the touch, but there’s a supporting cast to keep “The Adderall Diaries” semi-interesting at times, holding up the effort while Franco works through a series of pained poses. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s difficult to understand why co-writer/director Florian Gallenberger felt the need to bring the horror of Chile’s Colonia Dignidad to the screen. A place of unimaginable suffering, home to torture, rape, and murder during a time of national cruelty, dissection of the Colonia Dignidad requires a special filmmaking talent, skilled in the art of suggestion and sensitivity to the real-world nightmare the compound became. Gallenberger doesn’t possess such a respectful vision, going the grindhouse route with this thriller. “Colonia” mistakes identification for sympathy, pushing towards tastelessness as it lingers on brutality facing the characters, looking to build shock value instead of exposing the haunting reality of the Colonia Dignidad in a manner that’s respectful to victims and mindful of history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Music is the spirit and theme of “One More Time,” yet the film has difficulty staying in tune. Writer/director Robert Edwards has a conversational vision for the feature, which dissects familial relationships and generational divide, keeping his characters loquacious as they manage their insecurities and troubled histories. This leads to interesting performances, but the movie also makes room for a musical mood, exploring the industry through the efforts of one aging singer trying to remain relevant. It should be a more emotionally engaging picture, but “One More Time” only reaches periodic clarity, struggling to find the borders of its vast psychological examination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s nearly impossible to enjoy Melissa McCarthy on the big screen these days. After building back some goodwill with last summer’s “Spy,” the comedian returns to her comfort zone of grotesque characterization and feeble screenwriting with “The Boss,” which joins “Tammy” and “Identity Thief” to form a painful trilogy of unfunny business executed by an enormously talented actress. Unfortunately, McCarthy does it to herself, co-scripting the effort with husband Ben Falcone, who also directs. “The Boss” offers a promising premise that’s sure to make the most of McCarthy’s special brand of insanity, but what actually ends up on screen is shockingly pedestrian, barely inspiring a chuckle as the movie crawls to the finish line. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Hardcore Henry” isn’t groundbreaking cinema, but it’s one of the first films to fully acknowledge its video game inspiration, embracing the format’s chaos and visual flexibility. Director Ilya Naishuller (making his helming debut) pieces together a first-person actioner, explored from the perspective of a cyborg who enjoys killing, permitting the production ample opportunity to raise hell in a distinct way. “Hardcore Henry” lives up to its title, with Naishuller soaking the picture in violence, destroying bodies in every possible way. But 90 minutes of this POV chase? Weirdly, it’s not the visuals that end up souring the viewing experience, but the lack of story, terrible performances, and a tuneless soundtrack, making the titular brute’s periodic wargasms the highlight of the effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com