With the James Bond franchise on hiatus, Netflix is certainly trying to fill the void left behind by the superspy franchise. Recent efforts such as “6 Underground” and “The Gray Man” have attempted to provide fans with a similar hit of big action and globetrotting locations, endeavoring to find ways to provide a blockbuster rush for home viewing. “Heart of Stone” is the latest offering of superhuman heroism, with Gal Gadot hired to handle the dangers of the world as a secret agent dealing with a brewing threat involving A.I. and vengeful villains. A lot of the feature resembles last July’s “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One,” only here the results are more plasticized and less engaging, watching Gadot and plenty of CGI work battle to save the world. “Heart of Stone” is determined to launch a fresh franchise, hoping to appeal to a mass audience with plenty of mayhem and spy happenings, but the screenplay (by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder) isn’t inspired, never showing enough raw energy for this type of cinema, going video game instead. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many takes on the 1897 novel “Dracula,” with Bram Stoker’s tale of vampirism and letter-writing launching the imaginations of filmmakers for a century. What’s different about “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is the focus of the adaptation, with the screenplay (by Zak Olkewicz and Bragi Schut Jr.) not reviving the book as a whole, but merely concentrating on a single chapter. It’s a grand embellishment of Dracula’s trip to England, with the material trying to build nearly two hours of movie with the thinnest of inspirations. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (which was shot two years ago) certainly plays like a feature without much to do, pushing director Andre Ovredal to somehow create suspense out of a simple tale of survival, and one with a known conclusion. There’s early hope that the endeavor might somehow explain its very existence during the bloated run time, but Ovredal doesn’t have that kind of touch, sticking with a draggy Hammer Films tone that provides little suspense and zero frights. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Earlier this year, Nintendo caused pandemonium at the box office with the release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And now PlayStation gets their chance to test some brand loyalty at the multiplex. “Gran Turismo” is based on a racing simulator series that debuted in 1997, and it’s still going strong to this day. The dramatic challenge is clear, with screenwriters Jason Hall and Zach Baylin in charge of bringing a story to a game about speed and strategy, finding one in the real-life saga of Jann Mardenborough, who crossed the line between gamer and driver, joining the professionals on the track, trying to achieve an impossible dream. The production goes the “Rocky” route with “Gran Turismo,” which is big on formula and predictability, but also emerges as an entertaining and periodically thrilling feature, with director Neill Blomkamp selling the speed and danger of it all, which is far more inviting than the film’s dips into cliché. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2018’s “Puzzle,” director Marc Turtletaub worked to create a special atmosphere of humanity with a story that’s usually fodder for clichéd entertainment. The film explored the quirky world of competitive puzzling, and while the premise invited a shallow sense of personality, Turtletaub handled it carefully, making for a sensitive picture. “Jules” is about an alien visitation in a rural, older Pennsylvania town, and it’s another tale that seems like a launching point for silly business, or perhaps something along the lines of 1985’s “Cocoon.” Once again, Turtletaub generally avoids the obvious, with “Jules” a deeper examination of aging and loneliness, and it just so happens to have a little blue creature in it. Screenwriter Gavin Steckler pairs real characters with an extraordinary situation, emerging with a thoughtful understanding of needs, blended with some mild comedic beats that connect as intended, sold with terrific performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Since the release of “Carrie” in 1976, adaptations of Stephen King novels and short stories have become almost a regular event. Such tales of horror and heartbreak have become catnip to filmmakers, especially those raised on the author’s work in print form, finally receiving a chance to do something with King’s vast imagination. “King on Screen” is a documentary about the writer and his experiences with filmed entertainment, and while he doesn’t appear in interview form, King’s presence is felt throughout the endeavor, which seeks to identify just what about his writing often results in cinematic magic. Director Daphne Baiwir doesn’t provide a comprehensive examination of the subject, but she chooses her topics wisely, delivering an interesting ride back into King Country, sitting down with many of the men responsible for translating these pages into occasionally terrific movies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While filmmakers continue to search for ways to explore time travel for their screen efforts, “Aporia” hopes to do something a little different when it comes to the manipulation of the past. It’s a time assassin movie, with writer/director Jared Moshe creating a tale about a machine that’s capable of murdering people before they have a chance to ruin lives, following the growing panic of a woman using the device to fix her broken heart, only to encounter all sorts of problems that come with this decision. It’s a strange idea from Moshe, and it’s appropriate to see J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot company listed as co-producers, as it plays into their fascination with time and confusion. “Aporia” isn’t a thriller, as the helmer goes more for the heart with this one, but it builds an interesting world of debate and demand, offering a more grounded fantasy with human concerns. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The future of babymaking is explored in “The Pod Generation,” with writer/director Sophie Barthes (“Cold Souls,” 2014’s “Madame Bovary”) looking to understand the direction of conception. It’s a glimpse of the future, where an A.I. society turns the miracle of birth into a business, forcing two characters to understand what they want from the process as it commences at an alarming speed. Barthes has something to say about gender perspectives when it comes to the parental experience, creating an askew take on the ways of nurturing and responsibility. “The Pod Generation” is an interesting study of choices and regrets, but Barthes doesn’t make a heavy feature, looking to keep things lighter with her cast and an overall mood of playfulness as she probes workplaces, nature, and psychological spaces, providing a layered display of characters in crisis. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Love in Taipei” is an adaptation of a 2020 novel by Abigail Hing Wen, with the book titled “Loveboat, Taipei.” To avoid confusion (and possible copyright entanglements) the production drops the “Loveboat” name, but Wen’s general idea remains, following the adventures of young people trying to make sense of family and feelings while on an eight-week-long retreat in Taiwan. There’s been a rise of “Lifetime 2.0” pictures, with producers going after a younger, streaming-conscious audience with softer, easier tales of attraction and romantic challenges. “Love in Taipei” is no different, playing to a specific demographic with this understanding of pretty people stuck in situations of poor communication. There are no surprises here, but director Arvin Chen handles pleasant locations and capable young actors with skill, blending elements of a tourism video with the ways of heartbreak, landing a vanilla tale of limited dramatic emphasis. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s easy to understand why Jon Hamm would agree to star in a low-budget endeavor like “Corner Office.” He’s almost in every shot, takes control of the picture through voiceover, and portrays a mentally unstable human being, giving him a chance to do something different in a career that’s mostly been about sameness. He doesn’t make any bold choices, but Hamm finds his footing with the material, which is an adaptation of a book by Jonas Karlsson (Ted Kupper handles screenplay duties), capturing the peculiarities of a bizarre person coming into contact with unreality. Director Joachim Back doesn’t make an urgent movie with “Corner Office,” but he finds his way into the strangeness of the tale, which presents power plays in a business setting, teasing “Office Space” directions, but ending up with its own appreciation of insanity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2018’s “The Meg” was an adaptation of a book by author Steve Alten, but that wasn’t the big draw of the movie. Summer audiences wanted to witness giant shark mayhem on a big studio budget, and director Jon Turteltaub certainly achieved that level of escapism. It wasn’t a clever feature, but it was a fun ride, with big visual effects and a grand sense of disaster film scale, making for an enjoyable distraction. It’s taken producers five years to come up with a “Meg” sequel, finally returning with “Meg 2: The Trench,” which brings in indie helmer Ben Wheatley (“A Field in England,” “Free Fire”) to try his luck with sharksploitation, on a mission get the brand name’s momentum going again with a screenplay (credited to Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris) that’s basically a rehash of the original endeavor, only a bit darker at times, and more aware of its fun factor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Poster art for “Mob Land” finds star John Travolta with a gun in his hands, involved in some incident of violence. The image promises something active about the feature, which has been described as a “thriller” in press information. The picture is most certainly not active in the way thrillers usually are, with writer/director Nicholas Maggio going for more of a contemplative tone with the endeavor, exploring the price of crime as a single act of theft becomes a nightmare for a young man desperate to support his family. “Mob Land” has a few moments of physical activity, but it’s largely a film about hard stares and philosophical discussions, with Maggio unwilling to tighten up the effort, giving it some type of forward momentum. The helmer would rather stew in hazily realized atmosphere, and while he scores with some dips into darkness, Maggio misses an opportunity to turn all this misery into a gripping viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Carter Smith was recently in command of last February’s “Swallowed,” finding compelling ways to amplify an unusual crisis of drugs and digestion. There was a creepy opener with some real tension to explore, but Smith wasn’t as confident with his conclusion, bringing the feature in for a rocky landing. It wasn’t the resolution many hoped for, but enough of “Swallowed” connected as intended, highlighting the helmer’s interest in bizarre situations of confrontation and survival. Smith’s newest endeavor, “The Passenger,” also gets off on the right foot, establishing a level of confusion and violence to power the story. However, this time, the ending matches the beginning, with “The Passenger” maintaining a consistent level of threat and furious feelings, detailing a gnarly therapy session between a mass shooter and the victim he spared with a decent sense of pace and a few stretches of real intensity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com