There’s been some suggestion that Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel, “The Idea of You,” is actually fan fiction detailing an obsession with the boy band One Direction, with particular attention on member Harry Styles. Lee’s denied this, but the premise has a certain focus that’s suspiciously specific, telling the tale of a 40-year-old woman falling into a torrid love affair with a 24-year-old singer who’s part of a music industry machine. Screenwriters Jennifer Westfeldt and Michael Showalter (who also directs) have a chance to turn fantasy into a more inviting reality with their adaptation, but they’re tasked with pleasing literary fans who enjoy getting lost in this type of material. It’s a mix of soap opera and deep feelings that’s not always balanced well by the writing, which delivers a little heat, but also cranks up the cringe at times, disrupting intended intimacy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One has to wonder what the holidays are like in the Cronenberg household. Iconic director David Cronenberg has generated a family business with his offspring, as son Brandon has helmed three pictures (including 2023’s “Infinity Pool”), and now daughter Caitlin makes her feature-length directorial debut with “Humane,” building on her celebrated photography career. Keeping up with her father and brother, Caitlin offers her own slice of doom with the endeavor, which follows the events of a special family gathering during the ecological collapse of Earth, studying relationships and hostilities while facing an impossible time of decision and accusation. “Humane” is a dark comedy, a funny one at times, and Cronenberg shows skill with performances and tone, going to some rather bleak places cooked up by screenwriter Michael Sparaga. It’s a bizarre film, but one that holds attention with its sinister sense of humor and authentic sense of sibling resentment, which launches a most askew thriller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Unsung Hero” is a movie produced by the Christian group For King & Country, with singer Joel Smallbone taking co-writing and co-directing credits, also starring in the feature, playing his own father. And yet, the endeavor is not about the formation of For King & Country. The material attempts to provide an origin story for the whole Smallbone gang, with the Australian family’s move to America in 1991 used as the plot for the picture, which is primarily about the development of singer Rebecca Smallbone (a.k.a. Rebecca St. James). “Unsung Hero” is a faith-based effort, with the celebration of God important to the production, but Smallbone and co-writer/co-helmer Richard Ramsey are also interested in making a commercial for Smallbone family projects. The film is labeled a “true story,” but all the rough edges of life have been sanded down, with the writing unwilling to supply the target demographic with a more substantial understanding of sacrifice and faith. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The future is dire in “Breathe.” Screenwriter Doug Simon creates a dystopian tomorrow using all the cliches of B-movies from today, delivering a climate disaster drama that takes place around a single bunker, populated with irritable characters dealing with issues of life and death. The material is small in scale despite a plot that deals with the destruction of Earth, finding Simon trying to use a series of confrontations as a way to increase suspense. He’s also crafting a family drama, hoping to make the whole thing a little more human. Intentions are clear, but the execution of “Breathe” is dismal at times, with director Stefon Bristol (2019’s “See You Yesterday”) offering a clumsy drama that’s limply performed by the cast. Thriller elements are even more unappealing, finding suspense nonexistent in this study of relationships and survival, which always struggles to land emotional beats and generate heated moments of conflict. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Boy Kills World” apparently began life as a short film, co-created by Moritz Mohr. He’s been handed an opportunity to develop the effort, with screenwriters Tyler Burton Smith (2019’s “Child’s Play” remake) and Arend Remmers creating a feature-length take on the concept, which follows a deaf and mute young man as he undertakes the challenge of vengeance against a crime family with plenty of protection. It’s the stuff of simple cinema, and perhaps it once was. However, the new “Boy Kills World” feels the need to fatten its plot with needless complication, trying to offer viewers an epic study of revenge instead of merely remaining a hyperactive action endeavor. Mohr creates a confusing viewing experience along the way, with the general sugar-rush tone of the opening hour eventually traded for a heavier, slower study of family pain, making for a disappointingly uneven movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/directors Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart look to offer a human touch to the comedy “Suze.” The material examines the bizarre relationship between a mother and her daughter’s ex-boyfriend as they’re brought together by the strange ways of fate. While the premise is something out of a sitcom, Clark and Stewart don’t take the bait, endeavoring to make the tale as real as possible while still providing some laughs and interesting challenges to relationships. The real power of the movie is found in its cast, with lead Michaela Watkins offering career-best work in the feature, which asks her to play a variety of emotions as a mother caught up in the ways of parental obsession and physical changes. Watkins is outstanding, joined by co-star Charlie Gillespie, with the pair gracefully realizing the delicate ways of “Suze,” which does very well staying grounded and hitting periodic beats of hilarity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1998’s “Half Baked” would never be mistaken for a grand achievement in moviemaking, but the stoner comedy did things right when it came to assembling bits of nonsense to best entertain its intended audience. Silliness dominated the offering, with star Dave Chappelle putting his once-fresh comedic presence to good use for director Tamra Davis, who never pushed too hard when it came to plotting or character, simply content to make some brightly lit goofiness. 26 years later, there’s a sequel, “Half Baked: Totally High,” and there’s no way Universal Pictures is going to bring back Chappelle, electing to manufacture a cheap follow-up that essentially recycles the story from the first feature with a new cast of characters. Screenwriter Justin Hires (making his debut) and director Michael Tiddes (previously partnering with Marlon Wayans for several projects, including “A Haunted House” and “Fifty Shades of Black”) are facing an uphill battle with “Totally High,” but some effort would be appreciated. Instead we get this flaccid endeavor, which contains no laughs and looks oppressive, unable to revive the strange appeal of the original film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The credited director on “Cash Out” is someone named “Ives.” This person has no previous credits and information about the helmer isn’t available. It’s certainly not impossible for someone to come out of nowhere to make a movie, and perhaps Ives is a lucky newcomer to the business, handed a feature with a known star (John Travolta) to manage. News reports suggest someone else made the picture, with a few stories mentioning Randall Emmett as the man behind the camera, with the infamous producer of crummy VOD thrillers returning to, well, generate another crummy thriller. The real creative force behind “Cash Out” is a mystery for now (Emmett’s mother does appear in the film), but the reality here is the general nothingness of the endeavor, which doesn’t have any action, sharp dialogue, or dense plotting. Instead, there’s argumentative behavior in a bank for 80 minutes, with screenwriters Dipo Oseni and Doug Richardson out to manufacture a puzzle of crime and punishment that’s not worth solving. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s a big year for killer spider pictures. A few weeks ago, there was “Sting,” which failed to conjure much in the way of horror or drama. Now there’s “Infested,” which heads to France to explore a chaotic outbreak of arachnids, with a collection of young characters trying to maintain their focus on survival as danger develops all around them inside an apartment building. Co-writer/director Sebastien Vanicek certainly has the opportunity to make a slick B-movie with creepy visuals, but he’s after a more human take on the creature feature, putting his time into generating reasonably deep characters with interesting emotional issues and conflicts. The effort is laudable, and while Vanicek can’t find a steady pace to “Infested,” he’s pursuing a sensitive tone to the slaughter, aiming to elevate the endeavor away from a straightforward fright film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Downtown Owl” is based on a 2008 novel by Chuck Klosterman, who took 275 pages to realize his vision for conflict and quirk involving the residents of a tiny midwestern town. Screenwriter Hamish Linklater (who co-directs with Lily Rabe) only has 90 minutes of screen time to cover the complications of these relationships and the intensity of a few secrets. It’s not enough elbow room, leaving the feature an increasingly messy understanding of people and their problems. The endeavor tries to have some fun with eccentricity and local color, and “Downtown Owl” is at its most appealing when taking in the oddballs of the area, watching how the main character deals with her newfound position as a curiosity. It’s the rest of the picture that slowly falls apart, with Linklater struggling to manage personalities and motivations, gradually trading a story for psychological splatter that’s likely more interesting to the filmmakers than the audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Part of the “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” viewing experience is trying to remember what happened in “Part One – A Child of Fire.” The first movie was released just five months ago, but it was a completely unremarkable endeavor, with co-writer/director Zack Snyder aiming to create his own version of “Star Wars,” only to end up with a laborious space opera filled with glum characters trying to impart personal history and paths of revenge in a hurry, while villainy was presented in cartoon fashion. “The Scargiver” isn’t a sequel, but a continuation of “A Child of Fire,” and it’s more of a war film, with most of the run time devoted to battle scenes and infiltration plans. It’s meant to be a grand, screen-bleeding payoff, but there was very little build-up to begin with, turning this picture into a noise machine with Snyder indulging all of his love for visual excess. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before they entered the “Scream” zone in 2022, making two sequels for the popular slasher franchise, director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (a.k.a. Radio Silence) scored a minor success with 2019’s “Ready or Not.” The bloody take on hide and seek was a creative highlight for the helmers, who offered a somewhat fast and funny study of survival. Instead of taking a creative step forward after spending years in Ghostface Country, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are back with another small-scale battleground endeavor in “Abigail,” which, in many ways, resembles “Ready or Not.” Another offering of scary stuff and funny business, “Abigail” has more difficulty finding its tone, struggling with a weaker ensemble and editorial indecision, making for a longer sit with a fairly thin idea for a big screen bloodbath. It’s fun at times, with a charging opening act, but Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett don’t know when to quit with the effort, which slows down as it unfolds. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com