Mary Shelley has inspired a plethora of interpretations of her 1818 novel, “Frankenstein,” with “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” the latest attempt to do something with material that’s been reworked repeatedly. For this round of literary inspiration, writer/director Bomani J. Story (making his feature-length helming debut) turns to the problem of inner-city life to inspire a fresh take on death and scientific obsession. “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” has a terrific idea, using the plagues of gangs and drugs to explore the singular desperation of the main character and her drive to reanimate the dead, and Story manages to work up some decent atmosphere for the low-budget endeavor. There’s a distinct level of dread in the film, and strong performances to carry the effort when it needs it the most. What’s actually here is more of a short story, and the stretch marks to bring it to 90 minutes are visible, but there’s power in its most primal moments. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Flamin’ Hot” tells the story of Richard Montanez, who claimed to have invented an extra spicy snack food that helped to boost the fortunes of megacorporation PepsiCo when they needed it the most. The movie arrives with some controversy, which is unexpected when dealing with a story about Cheetos, but there’s been a general questioning of Montanez’s claim of ownership in recent years, with the screenplay (credited to Lewis Colick) working solely from Montanez’s 2013 autobiography (“A Boy, a Burrito, and a Cookie”), strictly following his version of the events that led to his marketplace breakthrough. Take “Flamin’ Hot” as a true story, and it doesn’t connect. Accept it as a one-note inspirational tale, and there’s more to enjoy, with director Eva Longoria making sure viewers understand the power of self-worth and motivation when selling the story of a man and his junk food destiny. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If you have no idea what “Buddy Games” is, I understand. The 2020 release attracted very little attention and box office, but in this world of streaming, perhaps the endeavor managed to find an audience. Three years later, there’s “Buddy Games: Spring Awakening,” a sequel from returning director/star Josh Duhamel, who reunites most of the original cast for another round of crude antics featuring unlikable characters. “Buddy Games” was one of the worst films of its release year, and “Spring Awakening” is sure to hold a special spot on this year’s list, finding Duhamel simply out to make a goofy, raunchy comedy for the broheim crowds, but he can’t even land a single joke. The follow-up is lazy, unprepared to deal with some of its more pointed ideas on culture. When all else fails the effort, the helmer serves up a poop joke, which is about as clever as it gets with this slapdash production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Sean Patrick O’Reilly has an extensive background in budget animation, overseeing the creation of such titles as “The Steam Engines of Oz,” “Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom,” and “Go Fish” (he recently took on a live-action project, “Corrective Measures,” which has the distinction of being the least depressing of the “Bruce Willis isn’t well” run of features). He returns to duty with “Heroes of the Golden Mask,” which is a Chinese production looking to offer some action and magic to younger viewers in the mood for a simple distraction. The picture does just fine with physical activity, with O’Reilly keeping the endeavor on the move, staging chases and battles with mild excitement. However, while “Heroes of the Golden Mask” is filled with world-building and characters, it’s also determined to have a sense of humor, making funny business quite unappealing, often getting in the way of a passable offering of low-budget adventure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Matt Drummond is paying tribute to the fantasy films of his youth with “The Secret Kingdom.” It’s a valentine to Jim Henson-style cinema, where imagination dominates and adventure awaits the lead characters, who are sent on a lengthy quest to find special objects, face adversaries, and battle to reunite a broken kingdom. The screenplay has the ingredients to get at least halfway to excitement, but Drummond strangely struggles with the endeavor. He’s absolutely committed to constructing a fantasyland odyssey, but he’s missing a sense of urgency with the picture, unable to find dramatic power, especially for younger viewers who will likely feel restless with the fatigued spirit of the movie. “The Secret Kingdom” has all the good intentions in the world, but the helmer doesn’t have the budget to really provide stunning visuals, and he’s often too busy working on the animation to really pay attention to what’s happening with the snoozy storytelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Simulant” definitely has interesting release timing, entering theaters as world leaders and the entertainment business discuss the future of artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. The screenplay by Ryan Christopher Churchill looks to examine a futureworld of A.I. enhancement, where people claim machines to help with work and fill holes in their hearts, but this deceptive stability is newly challenged by someone who doesn’t believe in such order. “Simulant” has the appearance of a nail-biting thriller, but Churchill and director April Mullen (“Wander”) don’t step on the gas with the endeavor, preferring a more meditative understanding of the central crisis. Unfortunately, this approach keeps “Simulant” largely uneventful and dull, with the importance of the message and the urgency of the hunt lost in superfluous atmosphere and uninspired casting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Boogeyman” is based on a Stephen King short story from 1978. And with most, if not all, adaptations of King’s short stories, the tale has been changed dramatically to meet the needs of a feature-length run time. Enter screenwriters Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman, who are tasked with making something substantial out of a tale that only filled 25 pages, turning to the ways of tragedy, family ties, and teen angst to do so. “The Boogeyman” isn’t a fulfilling viewing experience, with director Rob Savage sticking to the basics in horror moviemaking, juggling the weight of damaged people and the movement of something sinister in the dark. It’s the usual PG-13 stuff, though it seems capable of avoiding routine with a deeper emotional journey. The picture has the means to get there, but the writing isn’t that brave. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s hard to believe it came out nearly five years ago, but “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” made a lot of comic book fans happy. It wasn’t an enormous hit, but it found an audience, and one ready to absorb the production’s love of the character and his superhero history, delivering a portal-opening ride of then-unique animation and interesting characters, only really running into trouble when trying to find a way out of the mess of the story. For “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” sequel-flexing is felt, with the run time expanded, the cast list lengthened, and dramatic ambition inflated. “Into the Spider-Verse” was a careful introduction to the eponymous character(s) and their amusing disorientation, but “Across the Spider-Verse” aims for an epic feel of multiverse maneuvering, attempting to deliver a heavily knotted tale of fates and friendships, with directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson speeding up the edits and slowing down the storytelling as they build on the previous picture’s artistic achievements, though they still have a problem with pacing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Robert Englund has been acting since he was 13 years old, working on stage and screen, pushing his way through the industry, pursuing a life as a character actor. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Englund managed to land a role that would turn him into a star, transforming a man of many faces into a scarred monster the public adored. It’s a crazy story of fame and pop culture ubiquity, and it’s a major subject for “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story,” with directors Chris Griffiths and Gary Smart endeavoring to give the cult film legend a chance to explore his diverse career in this long-form interview with the once and future Freddy Krueger. It’s Englund’s big tour, and there’s nobody better at articulating the turns of his life than the man himself, who commands this exhausting but informative and entertaining documentary. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Machine” is based on a stand-up comedy routine from Bert Kreischer, who used the details from a disastrous trip to Russia in 1998 to create a story for the stage, and one that managed to go viral, catapulting the little-known comic (and occasional basic cable show host) into some degree of online fame, helping him to achieve a devoted fanbase. Kreischer’s act involves shirtlessness and volume, and now he’s being asked to lead a big screen comedy, with writers Kevin Biegel and Scotty Landes (“Ma”) tasked with turning the comedian into an actor, making something out of a mix of college day memories and his aggressive entertainment world persona. Oddly, “The Machine” isn’t a rip-roaring laugh riot, with the picture curiously muted when it comes to insanity and pace, asking the faithful to watch the eternal frat guy manage material that has him crying multiple times and participating in Screenwriting 101 arcs of redemption and atonement. It’s a movie specifically engineered to build Kreischer’s brand, and he’s the least appealing element in it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Kandahar” marks the third collaboration between director Ric Roman Waugh and actor Gerard Butler, with the pair previously dealing with a presidential threat in “Angel has Fallen,” and the end of the world in 2020’s “Greenland.” Their newest effort takes on the lack of peace in the Middle East, with “Kandahar” piecing together elements of spy cinema and action spectacle for what’s ultimately trying to be a character study, using cultural instability to understand multiple sides of this conflict. Those coming to the film for another Butler-led bruiser might be let down by the movie, with screenwriter Mitchell LaFortune aiming to understand personalities and motivations, saving big displays of destruction for just a handful of moments in the feature. Such restraint is laudable, but it doesn’t make the picture riveting work, as the endeavor lacks editorial sharpness, making for only an intermittently grabbing viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, there was “Easter Sunday.” It was the big showcase for stand-up comedian Jo Koy, who turned to the ways of his overbearing family and their cultural peculiarities to provide the foundation for a big screen comedy. With “About My Father,” stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco turns to the ways of his overbearing family and their cultural peculiarities to provide the foundation for a big screen comedy. There’s some major déjà vu surrounding the new release, though Maniscalco has a bit more thespian firepower to work with, hiring Robert De Niro to portray his tough but lovable Sicilian parent who has a difficult time dealing with separation issues. “About My Father” is an extremely mild comedy, but it’s not a funny one, largely leaning on Maniscalco’s charms and De Niro’s professionalism to deliver something that hopes to be silly and sweet, but the whole thing feels way too undercooked. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com