The great thing about “Lucy” is how it brings writer/director Luc Besson back from the dead. At least career death, with recent fare such as “The Family” and “Arthur and the Invisibles” showcasing a once vital filmmaker trying to find his voice again. “Lucy” isn’t that strong of a movie, but it has guts, a real sense of bravery for a summertime release, trying to give audiences a little more to chew on than your average slam-bang production. It’s surreal, exploratory, and interpretational — a puzzle of the mind that Besson manages with immense concentration, even when it reaches for the stars in terms of philosophical and scientific concepts. Trying to create his “2001,” Besson overestimates his ability to tie it all together, but when it’s interested in challenging viewers with its brain-melting ways, it’s quite the spectacle. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While watching “And So It Goes,” I experienced a strong feeling of déjà vu. So much of the curmudgeonly character played by Michael Douglas felt like a watered down riff on the role Jack Nicholson portrayed in “As Good as It Gets,” which earned him an Oscar. Sure enough, both films are scripted by Mark Andrus, who’s attempting to reheat the golden formula for director Rob Reiner, who’s never met an act of cinematic repetition he didn’t suck the marrow out of. “And So It Goes” is practically a remake of “As Good as It Gets” with a few key changes in supporting personalities, and while James L. Brooks is skilled at creating human moments out of cliché, Reiner can only manage a tedious obviousness that strips the life out of most scenes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Without an interior drive to whip this story into a frenzy of melodramatic panic, writer/director Richie Mehta finds a reflective position of concern in “Siddharth,” which manages to deepen already understated emotions. It’s a heavy film, but cautiously so, working to preserve an experience of discovery and understanding for the audience, without resorting to clichés to finger-paint conflict. It’s moving, aching work, outstandingly performed by lead Rajesh Tailang and crafted with an evocative sense of India, understanding the pressures of poverty instead of exploiting it. Due to its subject matter, it’s not the easiest sit, but “Siddharth” rewards the brave with a study of pained determination and portrait of Indian life that offers a few surprises. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In many ways, Anton Corbijn’s “A Most Wanted Man” feels like a reaction to his last picture, 2010’s “The American.” The George Clooney effort was esoteric and distanced, refusing to indulge audience expectations for a thriller, creating a considerable divide between those who appreciated its artistry and those who found the film cold to the touch. “A Most Wanted Man” is a more traditional spy story, utilizing the rattled remains of a post-9/11 world to set the scene for a story that concerns the limits of trust and the demands of manipulation, isolating the frigidity of duty, taking its inspiration from a 2008 John le Carre novel. Although it remains deliberate in pace, “A Most Wanted Man” is more approachable and engrossing, failing to tarnish the helmer’s considerable reputation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Joe Swanberg makes tiny movies. He’s built an impressively determined filmography of no-budget productions, some that remain quite obscure, while others, boosted by star power, have reached the art-house circuit, connecting with audiences on the prowl for modest but meaningful stories about feelings and fears, such as last year’s “Drinking Buddies.” “Happy Christmas” goes out of its way to articulate a loose sense of conflict, but Swanberg’s intent is crystal clear, crafting a fidgety picture that’s flush with human behavior. It’s not focused in any traditional manner, but little portions of comedy and domestic tension get the feature where it needs to go, even if the destination is nowhere in particular. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it’s gifted a rich summery atmosphere and the potential for honest emotions, “Very Good Girls” can’t quite shake its position as a lukewarm effort, often resembling forgettable young adult fiction. There are troubles writer/director Naomi Foner (making her helming debut) has trouble navigating, and the longer she lingers on awkward interactions emphasized by poor editing and mismanaged characterizations, she loses whatever power the picture retains with its perspective, following a confused young woman on the precipice of adulthood as she endures seismic personal problems at a most vulnerable time. What could be illuminating and heartbreaking is left merely serviceable, as Foner gradually abandons control of her own work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Beneath” is a mining disaster picture that teases its opening with an “inspired by a true story” tag. The reality behind this label is dubious at best, but I suppose the production could claim it’s based on any mining mishap over the last century. I wish director Ben Ketai avoided this route of realism, as it adds nothing to what’s actually a possession story set 600 feet below ground. Repetitive and anticlimactic, “Beneath” has a host of problems to deal with before it tackles any issue of authenticity, emerging as a labored chiller that depends solely on claustrophobia and darkness to create points of pressure. The rest just doesn’t wind up as Ketai imagines, struggling to transform a limited setting into a hellish playground of madness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One year ago, “The Purge” arrived in theaters with a deliciously sinister premise. After pulling in a sizable opening weekend audience based on the marketing of this big screen idea, “The Purge” was greeted with a largely underwhelmed response, with viewers complaining that for a movie that promised citywide mayhem, the feature was actually a home invasion thriller. Couple in crummy performances and shabby filmmaking, and “The Purge” was nothing more than a fluke hit, with grosses tumbling when word of mouth spread. However, profit is profit, and now we have “The Purge: Anarchy,” a sequel that attempts to match expectations missed by the original picture, while creating a whole new batch of mistakes that continue to take this inspection of lawlessness in disappointing directions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Just by the title alone, “Sex Tape” promises to be a saucy romp taking advantage of digital-age narcissism and its potential to embarrass, yet the film, directed by Jake Kasdan, often feels like a Steve Martin/Goldie Hawn collaboration from 1989. There are a few scenes that bring out bawdiness, but the picture as a whole plays it remarkably safe, insisting that its cast of characters deserve understanding, not mockery. It’s a strange tonal choice from Kasdan, but after creating one of 2011’s worst movies (“Bad Teacher”), perhaps his antennae are bent when it comes to creating funny business. “Sex Tape” doesn’t contain many laughs, even less heat, leaving the viewer with the sight of Segel and Diaz trying to turn a DOA script into the farce it has no interest in becoming. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One thing is certain about animated films: they take a long time to produce. Years are needed to perfect images and hash out the story, but Disney was so confident that audiences would show up to see 2013’s “Planes,” they put a sequel into production while the first effort was still being worked on. This is why, less than a year after the release of the original picture, there’s a “Planes: Fire & Rescue,” which hopes to continue down the same modest but profitable box office path, wasting no time between installments. While hindsight wasn’t available to director Roberts Gannaway, confidence was, and this sequel manages to fly a little higher than before, finding a passable mix of action and pathos as the “Cars” spin-off takes off on a new adventure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2004, actor Zach Braff made his directorial debut with “Garden State,” a modest indie production that became a cult hit, pulling in an audience excited to share generational malaise with a screen character. For some viewers of a certain age, the picture became gospel. Shockingly, it’s taken Braff a decade to follow up on this success, with “Wish I Was Here” a little late to the party. Reheating elements of ennui that secured himself a hit years ago, Braff doesn’t advance as a filmmaker with his latest effort, a disastrous, insufferable movie that bungles emotion at every turn, coating everything in a toxic glaze of self-importance. “Wish I Was Here” is almost a parody of “Garden State,” with Braff flailing to recapture what was lost long ago, calling his shot instead of organically finding a mournful rhythm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it isn’t billed as the ultimate document of the industry, “Video Games: The Movie” certainly hints at an exhaustive overview of console and arcade achievements, dating back over 50 years. Those expecting some type of gritty, candid look at the world of gaming are going to be sorely disappointed with Jeremy Snead’s effort. While it’s a frantically edited exploration of innovation and attitude, “Video Games: The Movie” is pure kitten play, avoiding any type of abyssal discussion of controversy and artistic accomplishment. It’s such a toadying picture, it’s as if gaming corporations decided to fund the feature, knowing that in exchange for footage, they’ll be treated with kid gloves. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it’s a minor credit, Drew Barrymore is listed as a producer of “Animal.” Primarily known for shepherding romantic comedies (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Barrymore starring vehicles (“Charlie’s Angels”), that her Flower Films company is even partially involved with a gruesome horror picture is a little strange. However, maybe this oddball influence is a positive thing, as “Animal” navigates an incredible amount of formula to emerge as a passably engaging creature feature, with emphasis on characters and suspenseful showdowns. It’s not revelatory in any way, but director Brett Simmons is a capable helmer, presenting a few choice moments of bloodshed and intimidation to make a pile of clichés sit upright for a change. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic 1914 novel, “Tarzan of the Apes,” but few have commenced the story in space. “Tarzan,” a German motion-capture animated endeavor, reaches into the galaxy to set-up its take on iconic material, trying its best to separate itself not only from a legion of similar productions, but also the last cartoon effort, 1999’s “Tarzan,” a Walt Disney Animation enterprise. The change in scenery is strange, but it’s the least of the oddities contained within this earnest but underwhelming movie, which searches for a way to join the famous feral boy to a sci-fi plot while still maintaining a connection to all the famous elements that have endured and have been exaggerated since the release of the book. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com