There are few horror films with the dramatic depth and patience of “The Babadook.” An Australian production, the picture explores real and imagined threats with interest in a blurring of psychological lines, pushing cinematic terrors into the realm of depression. It tends to sinister business beautifully, establishing a frightful monster while playing with the anxiety of dark corners, and it’s genuinely scary in ways few genre efforts can manage to achieve. But there’s another level to writer/director Jennifer Kent’s work, allowing a traditional run of chills and mounting chaos to have new meaning, fulfilling as both a scare machine and a gripping portrait of delayed grief. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private were always the highlights of the “Madagascar” films. Their blend of spy satire and slapstick was good for a laugh in movies that needed the help, creating memorable asides away from the main characters, stealing scenes whenever they slipped into frame. “Penguins of Madagascar” is their first solo feature (after headlining a successful television series), posting the question: can this simple joke be stretched from a few minutes to an entire picture? The answer is yes. Restoring some old-fashioned silliness into animated filmmaking, “Penguins of Madagascar” is a frequently hilarious and exciting effort that hands these tiny action heroes a big screen adventure worthy of their wonderful idiosyncrasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One could argue that 2011’s “Horrible Bosses” tapped into the frustration of the average working stiff — the 9-to-5ers facing wretched superiors who abuse and discard without a second thought. Or maybe the feature was the crude movie du jour, pulling audiences in during a dry spell in American comedy releases. Either way, the picture was a hit, paving the way for a sequel three years later, and one that’s determined to top the previous endeavor’s comfort with vulgarity, stupidity, and, worst of all, improvisation. “Horrible Bosses” was a terrible offering of funny business, sloppy and dull all around. “Horrible Bosses 2” somehow sinks lower, stumbling through a meaningless plot while fumbling around in the dark for jokes. And it’s ten minutes longer than its predecessor. Oof. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Foxcatcher” is a film that’s so deliberate, it doesn’t just get under the skin, it possesses an unnerving force born from attentive direction and committed performances. It tells the story of John du Pont and his intense relationship with Olympic wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz, but it’s not always a linear appreciation of a toxic union. Instead, director Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”) creates a series of haunted silences punctured by unsteady behavior, creating an exceptional mood of unease that aids appreciation of these fractured psychological states. “Foxcatcher” isn’t interested in speed, just character, and it achieves a stunning depiction of obsession and jealousy, punctuated by a devastating true-crime conclusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Calling in favors from all over Hollywood, writer/director John Herzfeld (“15 Minutes,” “2 Days in the Valley”) gathers a promising cast for “Reach Me,” an Altman-esque collection of characters and neuroses, sold in clusters of conflicts. Probing the anxieties of interconnected residents of the southwest, Herzfeld has the potential to create a colorful and sincere atmosphere of introspection, especially with a plot that details the highs and lows of the self-help headspace. The picture is sincere but always on the wrong side of melodrama, failing to come together as a revelatory whole. Herzfeld is determined to make these puzzle pieces fit, yet there isn’t much to solve with “Reach Me,” which gradually limps to a cop-out close. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Theory of Everything” is an interesting title for a bio-pic that only provides a surface appreciation for Stephen Hawking and his now ex-wife, Jane. The “Everything” part is most certainly avoided here, replaced with an average study of a brilliant man and his dutiful wife, with their ups and downs carefully tended to by the screenplay, which ultimately has most interest in the couple’s strange dynamic. “The Theory of Everything” is given a substantial boost by its stars, who deliver exceptionally nuanced performances. They’re often the glue holding the picture together, finding director James Marsh trying to find the romantic poetry of this union instead of tending to the textures of such an unusual relationship. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After two successful films, a choice has been made to turn the last chapter of “The Hunger Games” saga into a pair of movies. While an argument could be made that creative breathing room is the reason behind the sudden expansion of sequels, it’s most likely colossal financial possibility that’s driving the decision. Much like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter,” the studio wants to keep the cash machine powered for as long as possible, even willing to torpedo the fantastic momentum that was left after the conclusion of 2013’s “Catching Fire.” “Mockingjay – Part 1” returns viewers to the world of Panem and its power struggle between President Snow and Katniss Everdeen, but instead of providing economical storytelling and a nail-biting pace, the movie slows down the series to a dead stop, now subjected to the repetition and stasis the previous efforts largely avoided in their quest to shave Suzanne Collins’s books down to a manageable single-feature size. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Extraterrestrial” arrives after a long drought of alien invasion pictures. Not the world-decimating kind, but the sneakier offerings that play with images of big-eyed, gray meanies from another world, here on Earth to cause nothing but trouble. And probe. Lots of probing. Director Colin Minihan gives the genre a go with “Extraterrestrial,” but he doesn’t arrive with a game plan. Trying to marry laughs with aggressive violence, the helmer does a poor job of tonal juggling, botching an effort to restore some fright to an alien visitation. Derivative and cynical, the feature squeezes out a few effective moments, but the rest is poorly managed and rarely terrifying. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Mule” is the rare movie to actually contain a motivation to include fecal matter in its story. A dark semi-comedy with crime film overtones, the picture largely concerns the durability of a man’s digestive system, watching the character endure a week of forced constipation to protect a potentially life-ruining secret. While missing bellylaughs, “The Mule” does have pace and sharp performances, and the script is mindful of twists and turns, also good with gross-out incidents, making the ick factor a substantial part of the viewing experience. To make a feature where evidence of diarrhea is a critical part of the plot? That’s a real creative accomplishment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The great thing about 2013’s “V/H/S/2” was how it greatly improved on its mediocre predecessor, developing a confidence that drove the sequel to dizzying heights of horror and found-footage mayhem. “V/H/S: Viral” returns the unlikely franchise back to square one, issuing a handful of terror shorts that mostly underwhelm, while the wraparound tale is a complete mess, balling up and tossing away the very premise of the series. After the last movie managed to get almost everything right, it’s a disappointment to watch “V/H/S: Viral” flounder, unable to locate a spirited rhythm of ghoulishness and devious editing to help lackluster chapters come to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com