Adam Sandler has never been shy about bringing family members into the film business. He’s always surrounded himself with loved ones and pals, but with “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” Sandler truly makes it a domestic affair, hiring his daughters, Sunny and Sadie Sandler, to star in an adaptation of a book by Fiona Rosenbloom, while his wife, Jackie, plays a supporting role. It’s all Sandler, all the time in “Bat Mitzvah,” but director Sammi Cohen (“Crush”) doesn’t get caught up in the power play, managing to step back and form a mildly entertaining look at the horror show of adolescence, focusing on the first year of teendom and all the world-shifting nightmares it involves. The feature is obviously built for a younger audience, but the Happy Madison-ness of the endeavor offers some appeal for those far removed from middle school drama. It’s more Disney Channel than John Hughes, but the picture has its moments, especially when focused on the pressure points of adolescence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Vacation Friends” was a streaming hit for Hulu, presented as an R-rated comedy break from the pandemic blues, going blue and silly with a sitcom premise involving an uptight man trying to manage two intrusive pals he’s connected with while on vacation with his girlfriend. Co-writer/director Clay Tarver wasn’t aiming high with the material, but there was a modicum of charm to be found in the film, supplying a mild level of entertainment with slapstick misadventures. The picture didn’t need a sequel, but now there’s “Vacation Friends 2,” which returns to Tarver and the cast, only this time around, a faint sense of appealing nonsense is missing. The follow-up goes completely lazy instead, delivering lame shenanigans with no visible effort, happy to gift fans of the original endeavor a dispiriting viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For screenwriter Joachim Heden, a second chance to work with his concept for suspense has been provided. 2020’s “Breaking Surface” was a Swedish production concerning trouble in the deep waters for two sisters who don’t have anyone else to turn to when trying to survive a nightmare scenario. “The Dive” is an English-language remake, with Heden once again returning to script the endeavor, joining co-writer/director Maximilian Erlenwein for a reworking of the concept, trying to approach the same viewing experience in a different way. There’s not much to the story, which largely consists of vague relationship issues, leaving the bulk of the viewing experience to tense situations of rescue and endurance. “The Dive” mostly scores with dread, with Erlenwein providing a tense take on the central crisis for most of the run time. The effort does occasionally spin its wheels trying to come up with things to worry about, but a defined sense of claustrophobia and frustration is never far from view. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Feel-good cinema goes to the financial world in “Bank of Dave,” which explores the “true-ish” tale of Dave Fishwick, a decent man with money looking to help the residents of Burnley, a small U.K. town in need of assistance, coming up against the predatory ways of the London banking gatekeepers. It’s a Capra-esque attempt at gentle filmmaking, loaded with anti-greed messages and reminders of close-knit community power, and who better to helm the picture than Chris Foggin, who previously encouraged audience tingles with 2019’s “Fisherman’s Friends.” There are no shades of gray in “Bank of Dave,” which plays broadly for most of its run time, almost absurdly so, but Foggin and screenwriter Piers Ashworth aren’t too concerned about true grit when it comes to the David vs. Goliath story. This one is purely out to charm, and it does periodically, handed some lift by energetic performances and a buttery reminder of good people trying to do good things for one another. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Superhero cinema receives a major test of brand recognition with “Blue Beetle,” the latest comic book property to be turned into big-budget entertainment. The character has been around for quite some time (debuting in its initial form in 1939), but Blue Beetle hasn’t been a breakthrough creation for D.C. Comics, retaining more of a cult appreciation for fans of the company and its literary offerings. With most of the top-tier heroes already brought to the screen, it’s time for the JV squad to have a shot, and director Angel Manuel Soto (“Charm City Kings”) certainly understands the challenge. “Blue Beetle” is a lively introduction to the highly specific world of the character, with the screenplay (by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer) aiming to provide a vigorous origin story that’s heavy with cultural representation and action. It’s not a particularly rousing study of empowerment, but the feature offers some personality before the sameness of the subgenre takes over for a numbing finale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a strange summer for the R-rated comedy. In June, there was “No Hard Feelings,” a mediocre endeavor that failed to attract much attention from moviegoers. In July, raunchiness continued with “Joy Ride,” another forgettable film that was almost completely ignored by the public. For August, there’s “Strays,” which is the bluest offering yet, presenting a profane take on canine adventures, following a team of pooches who speak with celebrity voices and experience all sorts of sex and bodily fluid events, it’s almost difficult to tell when one ends and another begins. Dan Perrault is credited as the screenwriter, with his presence felt in the vague sense of drama that’s trying to keep the feature together, while the rest of the picture is just animals cursing and exploring the wonders of genitals. “Strays” is a rough sit, trying to be filthy fun without putting in the effort to come up with clever lines, and while director Josh Greenbaum (“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”) has a cute cast of highly trained animals, he doesn’t take advantage of potential insanity, remaining witless instead. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sibling relationships and all the awkwardness and unspoken feelings that go along with them are examined in “The Adults.” Writer/director Dustin Guy Defa doesn’t do the usual routine when it comes to the insecurities of brothers and sisters, offering a more peculiar overview of communication issues and stunted growth. He has a sharp cast in Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, and Sophia Lillis, who inhabit profoundly anxious characters trying to make sense of their connections after many years apart. Defa doesn’t bother with a story, going full steam ahead with these personalities and their journey of behavior, achieving some rather wonderfully bizarre yet entirely universal truths when it comes to the dance of disputes and confession. There’s strangeness to “The Adults,” but also a disturbing truth to much of the movie, with Defa getting into some psychological muck while handling the dark comedy aspects of the writing with skill. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Landscape with Invisible Hand” is a tough title to sell to a broad audience, and the film itself is even stranger. It’s an adaptation of a 2017 novel by M.T. Anderson, with writer/director Corey Finley (“Thoroughbreds,” “Bad Education”) taking on the challenge of bringing such an odd story to the big screen. It’s an alien invasion tale in a way, with Anderson using the premise of visitors from another world to comment on economic disparity and the casual brutality of class divide, all the while delivering a study of an alien society trying to become more human, but only with the worst influences. “Landscape with Invisible Hand” deals with art, family, and society, offering a sharp commentary of American life, and it’s a mostly effective drama, with the helmer working well with Anderson’s details, making for an interesting sit with material that makes sense of the writer’s unusual imagination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The expanse of The Troubles receives a straightforward examination of revenge in “Dead Shot,” which offers a refreshingly merciless approach by co-writers/co-directors Charles and Thomas Guard. The helmers have been away from the business for many years, last seen on screens with the dreadful “The Uninvited” in 2009. The siblings revive their career with a look at rising tensions between IRA members and British Army soldiers, taking to the streets with help from burning feelings of vengeance and furious displays of survival. “Dead Shot” is a tight thriller on a mission to stir up some suspense, and the screenplay is attentive to characters and motivation, creating psychological challenges for the personalities as they deal with so much over a welcomingly short run time (85 minutes). It’s not a grand detailing of the era and its woes, but the Guards wisely get raw with the material, making for a riveting sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Puppy Love” has all the elements of the usual Lifetime Movie routine. It deals with good-looking actors playing neurotic people, offers a plot detailing the development of romantic feelings between opposites, and the story mostly presents easily solvable problems featuring characters who refuse to get out of their own way, despite ample reminders to do so. The big addition here are dogs, with cute animals a common sight in the picture, and there’s a strange creative choice to make such a fluffy concoction into an R-rated comedy, bringing some coarseness to material that’s usually played as easy on the senses as possible. “Puppy Love” is diet cinema at best, but the screenplay (somehow credited to five writers) is rough to endure, supplying dreadful scenes of “charm” and “funny” scenarios, with the endeavor bringing hard bad sitcom energy to a feature-length exercise in pure tedium. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A remote hotel in the dead of winter. Troubled characters dealing with the possible melting of their minds. Strange visions around the property. Murder coming for all. There’s clearly a beloved horror film serving as the inspiration for “Bad Things,” with writer/director Stewart Thorndike looking to revive the chilling ways of isolation and psychological disruption with the effort, taking viewers to a strange getaway for a group of friends who have little respect for one another, facing unexpected finality during what’s meant to be a week of partying. Thorndike doesn’t have a budget, but she has a location, doing okay with the emptiness of the hotel setting and all the secrets it contains. However, a little disturbing behavior doesn’t carry “Bad Things,” which only connects in select moments, while the rest of the endeavor plays like a community theater production of “The Shining.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Stephen Chow is listed as the executive producer of “The Monkey King,” and while his role in the production isn’t clear, his movies are certainly used as an influence on the feature. The helmer of “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kung Fu Hustle,” Chow’s manic energy is special, with his peculiar sense of humor infused into lovably oddball endeavors that merge big action with broad slapstick. That’s the general idea behind “The Monkey King,” with the animated picture looking to generate a level of hyperactivity while exploring a fantasy mission for a special monkey, his sentient staff, and a young girl trying to save her village from disaster. Director Anthony Stacci (“The Boxtrolls” and “Open Season”) looks to crank up the scale of the effort, taking the tale to Heaven and Hell, and there are plenty of high-flying moments to enjoy here. The aggressive tone of it all starts to grind on the senses in the final act, going overboard with craziness, holding the film back from the rip-roaring good time it wants to be. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com