It’s difficult to discern exactly what audience “My Man Is a Loser” is intended to appeal to. Male viewers should be offended by the screenplay’s assertion that all married guys are nitwits incapable of managing their problems, constantly befuddled by the opposite sex. Female viewers probably won’t appreciate the paint-by-numbers broheim vibe writer/director Mike Young establishes, with strip club visits and exposed male genital humor likely lost on most ladies. Of course, all could be forgiven if the movie was even the slightest bit funny, but Young doesn’t make much room for wit, depending on tired improvisations and a clichéd battle of the sexes scenario to fill up the feature, which runs out of breath as soon as it commences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Comedy is subjective, perhaps the one genre that divides audiences the most. However, it’s important to spot when a production is actually trying to secure a healthy sense of humor and when filmmakers are simply flinging anything at the screen with hopes something sticks. “Behaving Badly” doesn’t try at all. It’s vulgar and lazy, and most importantly, there’s not a single titter to be had. Co-writer/director Tim Garrick imagines himself the conductor on a symphony of the outrageous with this feature, but its ugliness shouldn’t be underestimated simply because the movie is looking to provide a good time. “Behaving Badly” is one of the worst pictures of 2014, a tribute to “Risky Business” made by people who only read the synopsis on the back of the DVD box. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the race of competing productions, Brett Ratner’s “Hercules” clearly bests Renny Harlin’s January misfire, “The Legend of Hercules.” However, in a way, the audience actually loses twice when it comes to the big screen exploits of the famed demigod, with both pictures so obsessed with mammoth production scale, they forgot how to be fun. With Dwayne Johnson in the title role and Ratner trying to remind viewers that he’s the king of action and comedy, it doesn’t make sense that “Hercules” is as leaden as it is. It’s a bloated, tonally wonky effort that hits all the summer popcorn entertainment highlights but, in the end, it feels like empty calories, lacking the spirit of power and heroism that’s defined this character throughout history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

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