“Dead Man’s Hand” is based on a graphic novel by Kevin and Matthew Minor, and it’s billed as “A Brian Skiba Flick,” which is meant to signal to the audience that this western is going to be anything but traditional. There seems to be some vision to shake up the norm when it comes to cowboy problems in the old west, but the screenplay (by Skiba and Corin Nemec, best known as the star of the T.V. series, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”) doesn’t have an extended sense of hellraising, and the production isn’t blessed with a significant budget (18 producers are credited), greatly limiting the genre punch the endeavor wants to deliver. “Dead Man’s Hand” is bizarre, dealing with an underwhelming cast and lukewarm mysticism, and it’s not much of a revenge story, with Skiba unable to get the movie rolling along with all the shootouts and hard stares people want from a western. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the success of 1996’s “Mission: Impossible,” the series embarked on an interesting creative experiment, allowing different directors to have their way with the big screen spy game, bringing their own essence to the franchise. Such tinkering with tone ended with 2015’s “Rogue Nation,” with star Tom Cruise finding his guy in writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, with the pair returning for 2018’s “Fallout.” McQuarrie’s handling of IMF adventures has been slightly uneven, delivering massive visuals and unsteady storytelling, but he finds his rhythm with “Dead Reckoning Part One,” which is the most cohesive and thrilling sequel since 2011’s “Ghost Protocol,” with the helmer (and co-writer Erik Jendresen) finding ideal balance between spectacle and espionage. “Dead Reckoning Part One” is a massive feature and the longest picture of the “Mission: Impossible” series (164 minutes), but Cruise and McQuarrie are determined to make it a rocket ride, crafting a delightfully propulsive and suspenseful movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two men left to live inside a controlled environment with no chance for escape, forced to rely on themselves for survival and companionship. It’s not the “Bio-Dome” sequel that’s been threatened for the last decade, but a new production from Jay and Mark Duplass, who love to tinker with potentially comedic studies of relationships under duress. In “Biosphere,” the situation is quite grim, studying the experience of the last two men on Earth, watching them deal with an encroaching reality as they try to keep themselves alive inside a dome. However, there’s a lighter, stranger tone to the picture, with co-writers Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn (who also directs) looking to take viewers on quite a ride of feelings and revelations, attentive to the element of surprise while endeavoring to make something truly human, especially when it comes to the complexity of emotions. “Biosphere” isn’t a crisply edited movie, but it’s a periodically involving tale of partnership, held together by outstanding performances from Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The story of the English pop group Wham! only covers four years of recording and touring success, where two young men who became friends as pre-teens elected to try their luck in the world of music, ending up as one of the biggest things in the world for a very short amount of time. It’s a tale of industry triumph and personal camaraderie that’s remarkable to behold, watching as small dreams transform into a potent reality. Director Chris Smith (“American Movie,” “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond,” and “The Yes Men”) looks to explore that burst of fame and fortune with “Wham!,” a documentary that uses archival interview audio with members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley to track the development of their friendship as it transformed into a musical “brotherhood.” Smith doesn’t always cut deep with the material, but he finds an appreciation of success and its profound impression on the band members, who stepped into the spotlight as young adults without any deep understanding of who they truly were, trusting in the power of pop to help guide them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A few months ago, there was “Mercy,” a low-budget endeavor that tried to sustain “Die Hard” energy with its version of a battle between armed thugs and a lone hero stuck in a single location (in this case, a hospital). The picture didn’t connect but the premise had potential, and filmmakers return to the source with “Call Her King,” which brings “Die Hard” to a courthouse, with gun-toting bad guys hunting for justice while a judge is looking to shut down any rising violence. There’s no touching the 1988 masterpiece, but “Call Her King” gives it a proper B-movie shot. Director Wes Miller tries to keep suspense in play, and he’s open to action as well, working to bring a little tension to formula, with this study of survival and injustice aiming to deliver a more potent message on the justice system while organizing dangerous situations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Crusades” carries a mighty title suggesting an historical adventure movie to come. In reality, it’s a high school comedy, and one that follows the exploits of teenage boys striving to make sense of life and love as they deal with a single day of torment. Co-writer/director Leo Milano isn’t offering a stunning reinvention of the teen comedy here, playing with the basics in hallway intimidation and tested relationships. The tone of “The Crusades” never gels, as the material introduces itself as a comedy and concludes as a drama, and Milano never finds the right balance of silliness and emotion to really make something memorable. There are spirited moments in the picture, but the endeavor as a whole is uneven, lacking inspired goofiness and a deeper, more human feel for the characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Adele Lim makes her directorial debut with “Joy Ride” after enjoying positive reviews as a screenwriter, contributing to “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” These are pictures respected for their sensitive, knowing takes on Asian culture and personality, but that’s not the creative end game for “Joy Ride,” with Lim working to realize a script created by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, with the pair spending many years shaping their comedic instincts on “Family Guy.” Cartoon antics return in the feature, which hopes to revive the freewheeling formula of 2017’s “Girls Trip,” following four characters and their wild experiences in China. It’s a hard R-rated adventure with limited opportunity for genuine wit, finding Lim going all-in on raunchy material, while the writers go the paint-by-numbers route, presenting dismal humor and plasticized heart on par with an early-2000 Farrelly Brothers production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A sea creature of legend, emerging with enormous ferocity, the kraken hasn’t enjoyed the friendliest representation in big screen entertainment. One was memorably released in all versions of “Clash of the Titans,” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise also depicted the destructive ways of the monster. “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” hopes to offer a friendlier side to the story, with the eponymous character not an oceanic disaster waiting to happen, but an adolescent trying to find her way in the world, soon encountering her heroic side. DreamWorks Animation attempts to merge coming-of-age anxiety and deep-sea adventure for a slightly older audience with the feature, pumping up the endeavor with plenty of charm, nicely textured animation, and an outstanding voice cast. Dramatic potency is missing with the largely formulaic tale, but “Teenage Kraken” is sharply paced, colorful, and enjoyable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The mysterious ways of trauma are explored in “Run Rabbit Run,” with screenwriter Hannah Kent using the world of horror to explore painful real-life realities when dealing with mistakes and family. It’s the story of a woman’s battle to understand her daughter’s newfound obsession with her mother’s history, with director Daina Reid working to balance a sense of suspense with an understanding of psychological erosion, aiming to give viewers a case of the creeps while examining dark spaces within the characters. Kent comes up with a relatively simple study of a nervous breakdown, but she finds interesting ways to extend the tale, while Reid conjures an atmosphere of terror that’s slow-burn and effective. “Run Rabbit Run” isn’t an aggressive genre experience, but something more sinister, supported by active performances and a distinct conclusion to make the journey worthwhile. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Catherine Hardwicke fumbled funny business with April’s “Mafia Mamma,” and she immediately returns to screens with “Prisoner’s Daughter,” which asks the underwhelming filmmaker to take on the severity of death and family ties. Screenwriter Mark Bacci aims for the heart with his study of an aging ex-con looking to make things right with his estranged daughter, but he mostly offers the stuff of a television movie, leaving it up to Hardwicke to inject some emotional authenticity into an otherwise routine study of heartbreak and dysfunction. The helmer is not the right fit for the job, finding her blunt ways with performance and tone at odds with the seemingly delicate nature of the story and its concept of rehabilitation. “Prisoner’s Daughter” is boosted by leading work from actor Brian Cox, but the rest remains awkward in execution and limited in dramatic reach. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Long ago, Michael Oblowitz was a music video director who received an opportunity to make films, impressing some with 1997’s “This World, Then the Fireworks.” He’s been a journeyman ever since, even dipping his toe into DTV action cinema with a pair of Steven Seagal titles (“The Foreigner” and “Out for a Kill”). Oblowitz hopes to get back to raw behavior with “Confidential Informant,” with the helmer co-scripting (with Michael Kaycheck and Brooke Nassir) a leathery cop drama about the lengths people go to protect others, especially those who break the law to do some good. Perhaps the picture was initially imagined as a return to police movies of the 1970s, but the final cut doesn’t retain much in the way of intensity or personality, and the feature makes a strange creative decision when it jettisons its most promising plot development at a critical point in the endeavor. “Confidential Informant” is clumsy work, with Oblowitz striving to make a point about brotherhood and honor (the bruised kind), but the whole thing is muddled and cliched. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While the world waits for the James Bond franchise to restart, the producers of “The Man from Rome” would like to offer audiences some time with a different screen hero. He’s handsome, good with a gun and quick with his fists, and he travels around the globe looking for danger. He’s also a priest. The feature is an adaptation of a 1995 novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte, which sends a man of God into the mystery of a dilapidated church that’s been the site of a few deaths, forcing the Vatican to investigate, sending one of their steeliest soldiers into battle against armed goons, corruption, and financial world vampires. If it reads exciting, it’s unfortunately not, with director Sergio Dow tasked with navigating a dramatic maze of motives and characters, and he takes his time doing it. “The Man from Rome” is meant to be a starter pistol for some type of franchise, with the material better suited for limited series form, as the mix of occasional action and lengthy stretches of exposition doesn’t blend easily here. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

During the end credit scroll for “Sound of Freedom,” a “special message” is presented, taking attention away from the professionals who helped to create the movie. Actor Jim Caviezel pops up to share the story of the feature’s journey to theaters, encouraging people to share word of the film’s release while noting that it took five years for the picture to reach screens. There’s the passing suggestion that a lack of big studio support was the reason for the delay, but after watching “Sound of Freedom,” it’s pretty clear why such an endeavor was left to gather dust on a shelf. It’s an incredibly dull offering of real-world horror from co-writer/director Alejandro Monteverde (“Belle,” “Little Boy”), who takes on the agony of child sex trafficking with all the depth of a television production, going slow and shallow with this Rambo-esque take on everyday heroism, which is a thinly veiled commercial for Tim Ballard and his questionable activity in the world of vigilantism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com