In 2022, the world of A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain, allowing anyone to use the iconic literary characters, opening the floodgates for imitators and opportunists. Writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield is the first to try something with this new Pooh order, electing to avoid the family film circuit and plunge right into horror, concocting “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,” which reimagines the silly old bear as a Leatherface/Jason type, determined to consume and kill as many helpless victims as possible, joined by his pal, Piglet. If you’re thinking, “that sounds horrible,” you’re right, with Frake-Waterfield going the ultra-cheap, quickie route with the production, hoping to cash-in on a beloved brand name with the least amount of moviemaking effort possible. “Blood and Honey” isn’t silly or fun, it’s a dreary viewing experience with slapdash technical credits and no discernable story, turning time in the Hundred Acre Wood into a punishing viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2015’s “Ant-Man” was meant to bring a lighter side to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which largely deals with serious superhero business. The character was odd and the creative approach was humorous, supporting the weird science vibe of the film and its 2018’s sequel (“Ant-Man and the Wasp”). There was big action and plenty of riffing from the excited cast, and the usefulness of such silliness remains debatable, especially in director Peyton Reed’s hands, with the helmer never quite nailing jocular moments, often stopping the movies to keep trying. With “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” things are a little more serious for the characters, who have to deal with a powerful enemy meant to kick off Phase 5 of the MCU, pouring the foundation for another Avengers showdown. A bit of severity does an Ant-Man good, with “Quantumania” the best of the trilogy, at least when it focuses on the multiverse doomsday scenario and not wackiness, which, unfortunately, returns at times, disrupting the flow of the phantasmagorical adventure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Other Fellow” explores the power of James Bond as a name, with Bauer going around the world to detail these unique individuals, using press coverage of Bond movie openings (dating back to 2012’s “Skyfall”) to capture the surging visibility of the franchise. In Sweden, James Bond is a man who takes the moniker seriously, laboring to keep up with the playboy lifestyle, which has brought him many pleasures over the decades. Sweden James also has a 007 museum, entertaining visitors with his tours and use of vehicles he’s collected from numerous productions. Of course, all is not well with the man, who’s dealing with father issues, with his parent leading a sketchy WWII life before abandoning his family when Sweden James was a child. In New York City, James Bond is a theater director who’s not thrilled at all with the 007 connection, discussing his torment as strangers try to be clever with his name. However, NYC James isn’t exactly downplaying the brand, with Bauer underlining a bit of hypocrisy as the disgusted man accepts money to appear in a New Jersey casino commercial. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two years ago, writer/director Robert Machoian made a wonderful impression with “The Killing of Two Lovers.” A haunting study of jealousy and fears, the movie established the helmer’s interests in spare filmmaking, holding on to moments for lengthy periods of screen time, introducing unusual tension to scenes. There was also an unnerving understanding of human behavior, giving the picture an involving sense of psychological erosion. Machoian returns to the screen with “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers,” which reunites him with actor Clayne Crawford, reteaming for another study of emotional frailty. For “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers,” Machoian keeps things simple on the outside, detailing an afternoon hunting excursion for a man trying to get a firmer grasp on his masculinity. The experience doesn’t go as planned, and the feature observes such misfortune with a sharp understanding of reaction and thought, giving Crawford room to act in a slow-burn but riveting study of panic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Devil’s Peak” is an adaptation of a 2015 book (titled “Where All Light Tends to Go”) by author David Joy. It returns viewers to the troubled way of life in the American south, with this tale examining the plague of drug addiction and distribution, joined by familial difficulties as a generational chokehold is about to claim its newest victim. It’s an offering of “country-noir,” only with a bit more rage flowing through its system, with screenwriter Robert Knott and director Ben Young working to sustain a defined level of threat with the effort, which deals with dangerous characters involved in criminal endeavors. There’s also an attempt to bring some deep emotionality to the feature, handling the inner lives of players in the deep country meth game. “Devil’s Peak” isn’t an original take on these woes, but it handles with a defined intimidation factor, finding some life during its meanest moments. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Marlowe” is the latest attempt to bring the work of author Raymond Chandler to the screen. A writer of crime fiction, Chandler created the character Philip Marlowe to help guide multiple short stories and novels, generating an iconic private detective with a habit of falling into trouble during his cases. Liam Neeson is the choice for Marlowe in the picture, with the hulking Irishman trading his usual paycheck interests in action cinema for something a little easier on the body, hoping to turn on the charm as the investigator tours Los Angeles on the hunt for a missing man. Screenwriter William Monahan (“The Departed,” “The Tender Bar”) hopes to bring some Chandler-esque energy to the endeavor, but can’t quite lift this collection of guilty characters. Director Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game,” “Greta”) isn’t much help either, spending more time trying to simulate a noir experience than deliver one, with “Marlowe” more tiresome than expected, presenting little in the way of mystery or malice. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Arriving in time for Valentine’s Day viewing opportunities is “At Midnight,” which hopes to be a nice and cozy option for people on the hunt for tender tales of love. It’s also a getaway movie as well, offering lush tropical locations to help with heat during the winter season. The screenplay (by Maria Hinojos, Giovanni M. Porta, and Jonah Feingold, who also directs) hopes to inspire some sweetness, mixing the tingles of new love between an actress and the hotel employee who becomes something special to her with some mild film industry pantsing, detailing all the egos involved in show business. “At Midnight” isn’t ambitious, but it starts off with a lot of charm, with leads Monica Barbaro and Diego Boneta carrying decent chemistry and commitment to the material. Unfortunately, the endeavor doesn’t trust its inherent appeal, eventually turning to crushing predictability to find an ending. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a screenwriter, Aline Brosh McKenna made her mark with romantic comedies featuring a distinct female point of view. She helped to bring “The Devil Wears Prada” and “27 Dresses” to the screen, finding her niche in the industry with safe entertainment, making sure conflicts were easy on the senses and characters followed a defined arc to happiness. McKenna makes her directorial debut with “Your Place or Mine,” and she’s not out to challenge herself with the project, scripting a feature that’s basically the same as the ones she’s done before. Only here there’s a central crisis of distance, with the lead characters managing matters of the heart on separate coasts, going on different personal adventures for most of the run time. “Your Place or Mine” isn’t thrilling, but it’s easily digestible with capable performances from Reese Witherspoon and Aston Kutcher, who have the advantage of not sharing many scenes, allowing the material to stay away from dispiriting formula for a surprising amount of time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actor Dave Franco made his directorial debut with 2020’s “The Rental,” going against his comedic instincts to craft an effective chiller about the dangers of home rentals and relationships, emerging with a surprisingly unsettling feature. Franco returns with “Somebody I Used to Know,” which doesn’t add to his interests in creep-out entertainment, instead keeping things slightly silly with a comedy about a woman struggling to deal with a breakup and unfulfilled career dreams as she sabotages a wedding. Franco and co-writer Alison Brie try to bring as much edge as possible with this premise, working to keep the characters real as wackiness is soon paired with emotional gravity. “Somebody I Used to Know” has a way of neglecting the needs of tonal balance, but it’s a highly amusing endeavor with a cast that’s come to play. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

12 years ago, screenwriters Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka created “The Sitter.” It was a crude, lame comedy, and their last feature work for quite some time, detouring to television with work on “Dice” and “Superstore.” Getting the funny business out of their systems, the pair return with much more serious work in “Sharper,” looking to expand their career with a solemn study of psychological gamesmanship, trying to rethink 1990’s “The Grifters” for a 2023 audience. Gatewood and Tanaka construct a tricky picture with troubled characters, and they have an ally in director Benjamin Caron, with the T.V. helmer working extremely hard to make sure the movie carries a defined cinematic sheen. “Sharper” is a puzzle, and one determined to remain a step ahead of viewers. If you’re sensitive to spoilers of any kind, it’s best to stop reading here, as this increasingly disappointing film is nothing but twists and turns. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Just over a decade ago, “Magic Mike” rolled into theaters offering a boisterous time to viewers interested in the moves of male strippers, with writer Reid Carolin hoping to support all the gyrating with personal problems facing the characters. The movie was modestly budgeted and a major hit, giving star Channing Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh a shot at creating a franchise. Audiences were a little less interested in 2015’s “Magic Mike XXL,” but Tatum has managed to make a business out of this world, creating a stage musical and a reality T.V. show, and now he’s ready to return to shirtless duty with “Magic Mike’s Last Dance.” Soderbergh and Tatum attempt to turn away from pranks and aimlessness with the second sequel, hunting for a “let’s put on a show!” vibe with this take on the formation of a theatrical production, hoping to merge some physical artistry with grind-happy sequences in what’s easily the best installment of the trilogy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writers Carson and Erik Bloomquist aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel with “She Came from the Woods,” presenting a horror film set at a summer camp, which is a location repeatedly used in the genre. What they want to do with the great outdoors is make a slightly cheeky chiller about an evil presence on the property, hoping to have some bloody fun with this mildly exaggerated take on terror entertainment. And it works, mostly, with the screenplay noticeably hustling when it comes to introducing characters and a spooky history to decode, and there’s enough physical activity to give the endeavor some more animated sequences. “She Came from the Woods” is capably handled by director Erik Bloomquist, who pays tribute to the history of nightmare cinema while also hoping to contribute to it, coming up with an engaging romp involving malevolent spirits and family strife. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

15 years ago, Carter Smith directed “The Ruins.” It was a particularly nasty chiller, and in all the right ways, promising big things from the helmer and his love of genre entertainment. Smith’s career path didn’t take him to expected places, but he returns to horror events with “Swallowed,” a small-scale terror experience involving drug mules, mysterious bowel activity, and a strange imprisonment. Also handling screenplay duties, Smith keeps things manageable with the effort, which is basically contained to a few rooms and features only a handful of characters, looking to inspire suspense in more intimate ways. He gets halfway there in the picture, which starts out strong, promising ghoulish developments to come. Such extremity doesn’t arrive in “Swallowed,” but the build-up to agony is compelling enough to pass, with Smith skilled at launching a bizarre endeavor, but less confident when it comes to ending it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Seriously Red” is a film with a useful message to share about the importance of self-esteem, but it’s sold via the world of celebrity impersonators, with all the strangeness of that lifestyle competing with the writing’s more heartfelt ideas. Director Gracie Otto has quite a creative challenge on her hands, trying to make sense of screenwriter/star Krew Boylan’s ideas on the sensitivity of the human heart and the pageantry of stage performance. “Seriously Red” has a lot going on, with Boylan attempting to generate an explosive sense of living and self-examination. She achieves a level of craziness connected to the tribute performer lifestyle, but the oddity of the endeavor often obscures its valuable understanding of a troubled mind, with the whole picture a bit too animated for its own good. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Disquiet” plays like a video game. There are characters dealing with their handle on reality, set loose inside a contained setting, forced to process all sorts of violence coming their way. However, this is a film, the latest from writer/director Michael Winnick, who’s best known as the helmer of “Code of Honor,” a 2016 Steven Seagal picture. Winnick doesn’t have a large budget for “Disquiet,” attempting to generate a brain-bleeder with this tale of confused people trapped inside a hospital, tasked with sorting out their memories before they handle their escape. Throw in monstrous types and dangerous connections, and the production has the making for a mildly diverting B-movie. Winnick doesn’t get that far, doing much better with questions instead of answers, which gives the opening half of the feature some hustle, but even that starts to wane once the endeavor is forced to make sense of it all. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com