Despite some rough edges, 1989's "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is generally a sweet and positive tale of teenagers receiving the time-travel education of their lives. It's a brightly performed and superbly crafted comedy, having great fun with dumb guy humor and slapstick mayhem, with stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter perfectly cast as the eponymous adventurers through the Circuits of Time. The movie became an unexpected hit, and work on a sequel soon began. However, instead of a simple rehash where Bill and Ted meet more historical figures in their quest to graduate high school, co-writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson elect to use their follow-up to make perhaps one of the strangest sequels of all time. 1991's "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" has no interest in lining up with franchise expectations, going gonzo with its offering of afterlife survival, evil robots, and an adventure with Death, creating a thrilling study of filmmaking creativity and daredevil storytelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In "China O'Brien," the small town of Beaver Creek was saved due to the efforts of an ex-cop and her pals, who managed to rid the area of criminal influence. However, peace could never last for long, forcing the eponymous character to return to action in "China O'Brien II." Co-writer/director Robert Clouse doesn't have the benefit of hindsight with the sequel, which was shot at the same time as the first "China O'Brien," tasked with creating two defined adventures for star Cynthia Rothrock and her martial art moves. Perhaps a little break between chapters was necessary, as Clouse delivers a similar study of supercop action in "China O'Brien II," only the follow-up is less interested in the needs of pace and a tiny bit sloppier in execution. There's still the central appeal of Rothrock in motion, kicking and punching bad guys, but the helmer almost seems to be winging it at times, which slows the movie to a full stop before physical activity wakes it up again. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Robert Clouse is best known for his work on 1973's "Enter the Dragon," helping to bring the martial arts mastery of Bruce Lee to western audiences. He's also the helmer of 1985's "Gymkata," exposing his clumsier side when it comes to selling the power of action cinema. For 1990's "China O'Brien," Clouse seems especially overwhelmed by the assignment (he also claims a screenwriting credit), tasked with making two scrappy fight films (including a 1990 sequel, shot at the same time) that celebrate the physical might of star Cynthia Rothrock, with the vehicle manufactured to break her into the American market. "China O'Brien" is rough around the edges, borderline slapdash at times, but there's Rothrock to hold the endeavor together, providing a greatly entertaining take on western attitudes with this cowboy tale of law and order. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If you’re a fan of 2018’s “Den of Thieves,” it’s been a long wait for a continuation. If you’re not an admirer of the feature, it hasn’t been long enough. Writer/director Christian Gudegast wanted his own version of Michael Mann’s “Heat,” cooking up a heist thriller made with similar steeliness and a lower grade of actors. The first film managed to find an audience, and while it wasn’t a smash hit, apparently there’s enough interest in a follow-up, as “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” sets out to recapture the spirit, length, and machismo of the original endeavor. Gudegast doesn’t push himself here, out to basically remake the first offering with a location change to Europe, aiming to class up the continuation with a flashier sense of crime and planning. “Pantera” has the benefit of some fresh cast members and a new view, but the material doesn’t escalate the franchise, happy to enter recycle mode as it looks to tempt old fans to return to theaters seven years later. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last St. Patrick’s Day season, Netflix tried to merge the ways of Irish fantasy and the labor of formulaic romantic comedies in “Irish Wish,” giving star Lindsay Lohan a chance to continue her new career path as a holiday movie queen. The picture wasn’t very creative or endearing, and now, for the new year, there’s “Love of the Irish,” finding Hallmark Channel attempting to bring a little warmth to viewers with the endeavor. Star Shenae Grimes-Beech is put behind the wheel of her own rom-com, and writer Justin D. James is taking no chances with the effort, keeping everything perfectly digestible as hearts yearn and culture clashes commence. And yet, once the routine of it all is worked through, there’s a lot to enjoy about the mild feature. Director Ali Liebert delivers enough Irish charm to pass, and there’s a decent level of emotional content once the material settles into character. Also helping the cause is a supporting turn from Moira Kelly, a vastly underutilized actress who scores big here when it comes to sincerity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Eat the Night” has crime story momentum, observing rising tensions between drug pushers looking to protect their territory, but it’s also an interesting study of isolation in the digital age. Co-writer/directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (who made their helming debut in 2018’s “Jessica Forever”) attempt to merge more visceral encounters with intimate ones in the endeavor, as it details a collection of characters trying to find some form of stability and love as human connection enters their lives. “Eat the Night” goes a little deeper into private thoughts and feelings, giving it a fascinating understanding of the personalities as they deal with so much in their lives. There’s texture to the writing to sustain the viewing experience, and gaming elements to help create a different appreciation of loneliness, especially when it comes to an end-of-life situation occurring in a virtual world. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Laws of Man” is a low-budget thriller that has an opportunity to reach the dramatic finish line with a relatively simple study of small town corruption exposed to the light of day. In this case, it’s a series of murders happening in a remote area of Utah, putting two U.S. Marshals on the road to figure out what’s going on and apprehend the suspects. Writer/director Phil Blattenberger (“Condor’s Nest,” “Point Man”) maintains straightforward storytelling goals during the first hour of the feature, keeping matters passably interesting as he attempts to deliver complicated character business, mixed with a few moments of violence. “Laws of Man” suddenly loses interest in being approachable in the final act, which transforms an okay pass at games of intimidation into something quite ridiculous, watching Blattenberger bite off more than he can chew when laboring to come up with a knockout climax. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Jim Weir and Jack Clark make their feature-length directorial debut with “Birdeater” (credited as “Fax Machine”), and they strive to craft an immediate impression with their work on the endeavor. It’s a story about a gathering, and in movies, such social events are never without incident, open to the behaviors of characters who probably shouldn’t be around one another. In this case, the celebration is a bachelor party (or “Bucks Party”), which is often depicted as a chaotic situation of male bonding and debauchery. “Birdeater” hunts for a different kind of mayhem, turning to drugs and confrontation to whip up tension, following Weir and Clark (who also writes the picture) as they battle to depict a charged occasion populated with characters in various states of mental distress. It’s a recipe for compelling chaos, yet the helmers labor hard to generate an abstract viewing experience, looking for engagement on a visual level, not a dramatic one. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Survive” has crab monsters on its poster and predominantly featured in its trailer. It should be noted that these “arthropods from the abyss” are barely found in the picture, mostly regulated to the last act, where the beasties make brief appearances. “Survive” isn’t the disaster movie it initially seems to be, as director Frederic Jardin doesn’t have the budget to go with his depiction of a global catastrophe, instead laboring to launch endurance trials with a few locations and a lot of panicked acting from the cast. “Survive” has the makings for a bleak ride around the end of the world, but it doesn’t have enough excitement and incident to really launch a series of thrills. It feels a little hollow and anticlimactic, and while Jardin is committed to following characters as they experience an unthinkable situation of self-preservation, his sense of upheaval could use some work, as the endeavor is missing a more intense appreciation of global ruin. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2023, actor Donnie Yen made an appearance in “John Wick: Chapter 4,” playing a supporting part in the sequel, which made use of his thespian presence and extensive action cinema training. He was a highlight in the film, and Yen returns to screens in “The Prosecutor,” bringing him to Hong Kong for a feature that tries to be a little of everything. Yen also directs the endeavor, and he’s looking to create a heroic role for himself, portraying a figure of justice who becomes a player in the world of law, unwilling to allow an innocent man to suffer while corruption continues to thrive. “The Prosecutor” is a starring vehicle for Yen, gifting himself opportunities to display his dramatic range with the legal thriller. And there’s furious action to keep the picture enticing to viewers, watching Yen and his stunt team organize some hard-hitting confrontations that successfully spice up the movie. However, these moments of brutality can’t save the offering, which has trouble with pace and exaggeration, creating a labored viewing experience at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2024, one of the great filmmaking mysteries was solved when footage from “The Day the Clown Cried” was made available to the public through the Library of Congress. The release came after a decade-long waiting period, with creator Jerry Lewis finally willing to share what remained of the production, but only after his death (in 2017). However, this grand unveiling (which, admittedly, didn’t cause much of a commotion) wasn’t the first time the feature was presented, and the documentary “From Darkness to Light” examines the picture’s journey from an iffy idea to a production debacle, with a few men working the late shift at a film studio largely responsible for preserving an endeavor Lewis himself wishes never existed. Directors Eric Friedler and Michael Lurie offer a rich understanding of creative and monetary woes in “From Darkness to Light,” out to clarify exactly what “The Day the Clown Cried” is and why Lewis was compelled to make it, turning himself inside out in the process. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Damned” has a lot of competition, as most horror releases these days tend to go for intense atmosphere, valuing the art of the haunt over the shock of violence. Screenwriter Jamie Hannigan and director Thordur Palsson (making his feature-length helming debut) look to mount a tale of conscience and doom, taking viewers to a remote part of the world to inspect how a single decision manages to unravel a sense of order and sanity within a small community of fisherman. “The Damned” has terrific imagery and a decent understanding of menace, going the slow-burn route for most of its chills, and it has an advantage in its setting, as isolation is always good for frights. The endeavor is more invested in a gradual display of unsettling interactions, maintaining a leisurely pace, but Palsson doesn’t overstay his welcome with the work, and manages to deliver a few accomplished freak-outs along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“From Roger Moore with Love” isn’t a hard-hitting documentary about the late actor (who passed away in 2017). It’s more of a softer take on his life, as director Jack Cocker hopes to emulate Moore while exploring the subject’s experiences in love and performance. It’s not exactly a valentine, as some of the details pertaining to Moore’s inability to remain faithful to his romantic partners and wives are present, but Cocker isn’t making something too critical, electing to keeps things relatively light as the tale follows the star from his childhood dreams to his adult realities. Moore created “Roger Moore” to take on the world, and the feature seeks to understand the invented man as he lives with the real one, especially when a working thespian received the opportunity of a lifetime, asked to become James Bond, giving him the global exposure he was curious about. “From Roger Moore with Love” is perhaps too fluffy, but as an understanding of impulses and practiced charms, it offers interesting analysis of Moore’s behaviors and legacy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Cardinals flock to Rome, animated animals in survival mode, Glen Powell proves his worth, death is a curious macaw, motherhood goes feral, Olympic horror hits network televison, revenge rides a Rascal, crime and punishment in remote Arizona, sibling misery in New York City, and the healing power of a bat mitzvah.

These are the Best Films of 2024.

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Bruised and battered siblings, an unfinished presidential portrait, Diane Keaton owes somebody money, where’s Spider-Man when you need him, Chuck Norris returns, Tyler Perry’s marital difficulties, a superspy noise machine, John Cena should stick to wrestling, co-stars at war, and weed woes from an unwelcome sequel.

These are the Worst Films of 2024.

It’s been named the “Munich Massacre.” In 1972, a Palestinian terrorist group known as “Black September” entered the Olympic Village during the 1972 summer games, out to take Israeli athletes hostage and broadcast their mission to the world. In a first for television, ABC News was there to document the unfolding situation, sharing such haunting imagery and tense moments with a global audience. Instead of exploring the atmosphere of the violent takeover, co-writer/director Tim Fehlbaum (2021’s “Tides”) remains close to the ABC team in “September 5,” following the panicked crew as they mount an effort to keep up with the emergency situation, using professional seasoning and technology to capture an unprecedented event. It's history, but Fehlbaum turns it into riveting cinema, keeping “September 5” lean and kinetic, skillfully recreating heated moments and charged personalities in one of the best films of the year. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2016’s “Prevenge” was a humdinger of a directorial debut for Alice Lowe. The seasoned actress found a near-perfect balance of horror and heartache with the effort, delivering a sensitive understanding of motherhood anxiety along the way. The picture managed to surprise and delight, and it’s taken some time for Lowe to return behind the camera, finally completing a follow up in “Timestalker,” which loses the slasher movie angle, but retains interest in the female experience. It’s a study of romantic fixation and reincarnation that carries over centuries, and while the helmer doesn’t have a major budget, she works in small tonal victories while maintaining a dark sense of humor. “Timestalker” is a bizarre feature, but it remains an original vision for character inspection, and Lowe adds another interestingly knotted endeavor to her helming resume. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Bloody Axe Wound” is meant to be a celebration of slasher cinema. Writer/director Matthew John Lawrence (“Uncle Peckerhead”) tries to make a film about cinema, especially releases from the 1980s, when producers launched countless tales of teens being hunted by killers, and all the adolescent feelings that went along with it. However, instead of simply paying homage to his favorite subgenre, Lawrence tries to get unreal in the specifics of this screen world, asking viewers to ride along with a premise that doesn’t make much sense, or at least requires a major buy-in when it comes to dark fantasy. It’s not easy to remain invested in “Bloody Axe Wound,” but the production is certainly prepared to hit the basics of blood and gore, and that might be enough for some. There’s a potentially interesting idea behind the endeavor, but one in dire need of clarification, or perhaps a bit more intensity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Fame can be a weird thing. In some parts of the world, Robbie Williams is an incredibly popular singer and media figure, participating in the music business since 1990, making him a true veteran of the industry. And in other parts of the world, Robbie Williams is basically unknown. He’s a polarizing figure, spending most of his career in “bad boy” mode, desperate to attract attention any way he can. It remains to be seen if there’s an audience for a Robbie Williams bio-pic, but co-writer/director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”) is giving it a try, overseeing “Better Man,” a routine offering of self-esteem issues, drug use, and redemption that’s only different in the manner it presents the subject: as a chimpanzee. There’s a touch of “Planet of the Apes” in the musical, but the core of the picture remains Williams’s story, and it’s not easy to stay invested in a man who’s spent most of his life being unpleasant and hostile. The movie needs a lot more than primate power to make Robbie Williams palatable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com