Sequels aren’t easy to assemble, but it helps to have a production team that’s up for the challenge, ready to send established characters on a fresh adventure. “22 Jump Street” plays it safe and cynical, hoping to subvert the norm by openly mocking sequels as it goes about the business of building one. 2012’s “21 Jump Street” was silly and fun, its follow-up is a little less so, missing a jewel of an idea that could transform the update of a popular 1980s cop show into its own thing. Repetition is intentional, and the picture barely colors outside the lines. “22 Jump Street” is certainly amusing, but rarely is it funny or energetic, mostly content to rehash beats from the previous feature, you know, like a sequel. Get it? Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Ping Pong Summer” is in love with the 1980s. It’s an obsession that drives writer/director Michael Tully, who celebrates and satirizes the era with this vague “Karate Kid” riff that’s all about the details. While it teases “Wedding Singer”-style nostalgia as a means of wink-happy derision, “Ping Pong Summer” is a more pure-hearted affair, with an interest in silliness that carries throughout the film. It’s funny at times, energized by its idolatry, and while there are substantial shortcomings to the picture, it knows how to have a good time, playing with teen cinema conventions as it checks off its laundry list of references and sense memories. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Lullaby” is a film that contains immense passion and heartbreak, yet the final cut doesn’t retain much in the way of organic emotional release. The directorial debut of actor Andrew Levitas, “Lullaby” is a disjointed, overcooked tale of familial relationships, self-examination, and assisted suicide, and a feature that delivers only sporadically when it comes to the feelings it’s hoping to inspect. It’s grabby work, perhaps too concerned with fulfilling its tearjerker intentions, but there is some detectible skill from Levitas that suggests he might be a helmer to watch one day. For all the manipulation that requires a machete to hack through, there are moments contained within that are welcomingly human. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Grand Seduction” is as Canadian a production as can be. Featuring cocaine abuse and rampant unemployment while it tracks a concerted attempt to trick a young man into submission, it’s just about the friendliest film of the year so far. Playful and charming, the picture coasts on its sense of humor and handle on mischief, while sustaining a casual atmosphere of community bonding that would be rendered as pure syrup in America. Director Don McKellar doesn’t possess enough judicious editing confidence to make “The Grand Seduction” airtight, but even slogging through excessive length and the effort registers appealingly. After all, there are not many movies that feature scenes of phone sex that you could bring your grandmother to, making the endeavor’s startling approachability something to savor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The idea of college as a means toward a future filled with employment opportunities and intellectual advancement is slowly going by the wayside. Times are tough for everyone, including students and institutions, creating a financial pit for those who choose to continue their education. The documentary “Ivory Tower” sets out to explore why higher education is under siege, visiting campuses and accumulating interviews that highlight the growing discontent with the state of school as tuitions rise and student loan debt swallows what little hope is left after graduation. It’s a topic worth dissection, but what director Andrew Rossi has here are 45 powerful, incisive minutes of information. The rest of “Ivory Tower” is lost to repetition and substantial padding to reaching a 90 minute run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

How does one even attempt to compact the life and times of author Gore Vidal into a documentary that runs less than 90 minutes? I don’t envy director Nicholas D. Wrathall, who struggles to mount a comprehensive understanding of one of the most complex (and catty) men of the 20th century. More of an overview than a proper dissection, “Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia” liberally shaves off more than few highlights and lowlights from the subject’s life, electing to transform into a political documentary, taking a look a Vidal’s history of outspoken behavior when it comes to the leadership of the U.S., and his abyssal knowledge of the nation’s past. It’s not a filling cinematic meal, but juicy morsels of candor and a chance to acquire a deeper appreciation for Vidal’s epic ego are worth the price of admission. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sincerity goes a long way in film. It’s difficult to sustain, but individual moments count for something, which is why “I Am I” remains a strangely beguiling picture, despite obvious shortcomings. It marks the directorial debut for actress Jocelyn Towne, who conjures a generous starring role for herself as well, arranging a challenge of tonality that’s largely conquered, managing deep-seated emotion with an askew premise that teases uncomfortable areas of interaction. “I Am I” isn’t bold work, but it’s interesting when it finds true intimacy, masterminding a few suspenseful moments of poor judgment and bruised hearts that hold attention. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Recent work from writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait has proven the now part-time stand-up comedian to be an impressive filmmaker with a clear artistic vision, balancing tragedy and comedy with exceptional skill. With “World’s Greatest Dad” and “God Bless America,” Goldthwait has been fearless and hilarious, creating movies that take genuine risks with violence and satire. For “Willow Creek,” Goldthwait sets his sights on the found footage subgenre, running uphill with an aesthetic that’s been drained of any surprise over the last few years. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, “Willow Creek” commits to simplicity, turning a basic Bigfoot hunt into an authentically creepy, evocative event, with sound the driving force here, not berserk visuals. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s difficult to dream up new surprises in the time travel subgenre, with many pictures covering the basics in awe and timeline complication, often coupled with suspense or action elements to keep the whole enterprise on the move. And then there’s a movie like Shane Carruth’s “Primer,” which takes a scientific approach to the event, attempting to appeal to those who’ve grown weary of flux capacitors and gaudy time machines. “I’ll Follow You Down” works on the same level of scientific discourse, only here the focus is on family and how the manipulation of time sacrifices this essential component of life. Writer/director Richie Mehta doesn’t summon the most riveting tale with “I’ll Follow You Down,” but his intentions are pure, striving to rework the subgenre from a more human standpoint. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Lucky Them” aspires to make a profound statement on self-medication, with the main character dabbling in sex and drinking to motivate her daily existence. However, any hope to inspect the reality of such a corrosive mental block is dashed early on in the film, with director Megan Griffiths unable to portray an honest sense of hopelessness, always returning to a semi-sitcom atmosphere of misunderstandings and broken promises. “Lucky Them” is trite instead of deep, while star Toni Collette is stuck in neutral, forced to make funny faces when the screenplay is unable to provide dramatic guidance, which is a frequent event in this ineffective picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Yes, “Edge of Tomorrow” plays like a ‘roided up “Groundhog Day,” yet beyond the similar daily reset concept, the latest film from director Doug Liman heads in an entirely different direction. The story doesn’t concern the warming of a heart, but the fate of the planet and a study of courage, loaded into a summer blockbuster that values quick pace and big action, keeping star Tom Cruise a very busy man during the mayhem. Inventive and irresistible at times, “Edge of Tomorrow” is more of a carnival ride than offering of drama, whipping back and forth as an alien invasion picture while guns roar, ships crash, and death is merely the first step to a uniquely fulfilling life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Hollywood has attempted to make terrifying home invasion pictures, often employing imagery involving masked intruders as a means of horror. The Dutch chiller “Borgman” basically follows the same routine of domestic violation, only the results are far more insidious and wholly effective as a screen nightmare. “Borgman” is a fantastic example of how a slow-burn effort gradually reaches for the throat, using mysterious events and puzzling characters to vaguely define ghastly acts of intrusion, helping to secure an unsettling mood that’s marvelously maintained by writer/director Alex van Warmerdam. It’s a disturbing feature, flirting with incomprehensibility at times, but its way with mounting unpleasantness is frequently masterful, tilted with moments of dark comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are tearjerkers that carefully extract emotion from the audience through precise screenwriting, editorial timing, and tasteful performances. “The Fault in Our Stars” practically has interns stationed underneath theater seats peeling onions. It’s an aggressive picture, one that’s not content to let anyone leave the multiplex unless they’re a blubbering mess. Thankfully, there’s a little more soulful substance to the movie than cheap manipulations, and while “The Fault in Our Stars” is grabby, it’s also quite human, with genuine feelings accompanying troubling situations concerning death and grief. Fully aware of its power and pre-loaded following (those previously lassoed into fandom through John Green’s 2012 book), the feature adaptation has its problems, but it also retains refreshing dignity, never dipping into hysterics to extract feelings it hasn’t earned. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the acting business for 25 years, I trust writer/director/star Clark Gregg’s perspective on the film business. His second moviemaking endeavor, “Trust Me” (following 2008’s “Choke”), has an amazing lived-in feel as we watch a desperate agent work the angles around power players in Hollywood. It has the lingo and speed, and the story lends itself to a type of insider perspective that’s riveting, getting to understand the often sneaky machinations of casting deals. Clark isolates all the desperation and surges of confidence required to complete a contract, but dramatically, “Trust Me” goes from stability to seppuku. It’s the kind of picture that could be shut off at the hour mark and nothing would be missed. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been quite a year for filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. After the U.S. release of “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” an exquisite documentary about failed plans to mount a most ambitious sci-fi epic during the 1970s, the helmer steps back behind the camera with “The Dance of Reality,” his first feature since 1990’s “The Rainbow Thief.” The mastermind of “El Topo” and “The Holy Mountain” returns to his brain-bleeding roots with his latest effort, a wonderfully surreal journey into memory and misery, jam-packed with all the oddity and incongruity Jodorowsky is known for, still kicking with mischief after all this time away from moviemaking. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The mysteries of the mind receive a tepid investigation in the thriller, “Anna.” Playing fast and loose with a borderline sci-fi concept, the picture offers a talented cast but doesn’t have a watertight script, fumbling through scenes instead of confidently mounting a series of nail-biting moments and mysterious events. “Anna” hints early on that sinister business is on its way, but the promise isn’t kept, finding director Jorge Dorado struggling to maintain excitement while the movie itself keeps laying down to take a nap, bored of its dispiriting imagination for brain invasion and the unsettling power of a teenage girl. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com