• Blu-ray Review – Marmalade

    Keir O’Donnell is a longtime actor, perhaps best know for his role in 2005’s “Wedding Crashers.” He makes his directorial debut with “Marmalade,” also taking a writing credit on the picture, which follows the planning stages of a young man in love with a wild woman, with their union newly focused on a bank robbery to deal with rising pharmaceutical prices. It’s not an original study of carelessness, but O’Donnell attempts to add some turns to the plot, juicing up its potential as a mystery. “Marmalade” rides the line between quirky and clever, and one really starts to feel the length of the feature in the final act, finding O’Donnell taking his time organizing a way out of the story. But there’s charm in the movie, which is helped along by enthusiastic performances, and technical proficiency is present, adding some style to help digest the unsteady endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Maraschino Cherry

    The inherent darkness of brothel life is blended with comedy in 1978’s “Maraschino Cherry,” with writer/director Radley Metzger attempting to bring some silliness to the screen while examining various fantasy encounters. It’s an episodic endeavor about the life of a madame and her experiences with numerous clients, and Metzger follows the natural flow of oddity and carnal intensity with the picture, but he’s always ready to stop for a joke. “Maraschino Cherry” is bizarre at times, but it makes a valiant effort to be welcoming, keeping things spirited as the story jumps from one seductive scenario to the next. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Little Brother

    “Little Brother” is the latest R-rated comedy to try and win audience approval through raunchiness. Screenwriters Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel (“The D Train,” “Yes Man”) have a workable premise involving a family man experiencing a special kind of horror when the boy he briefly mentored nearly 30 years ago returns to his life with the expectation of continuing their association. It’s an idea that’s ripe for a darkly comedic treatment, playing up mental instability and extended awkwardness as the situation tightens for both characters. Instead of providing edge, director Matt Spicer (“Ingrid Goes West”) goes crude, launching a feeble comedy that hopes to charm with its steady display of gross-outs and humiliations. Stars John Cena and Eric Andre are appropriately mismatched as screen partners, but they’re handed uninspired material that always tries to slide by with wearying stupidity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Jackass: Best and Last

    “Jackass” made its MTV debut in 2000, immediately finding an audience with its juvenile antics and DIY stunt work. It brought skate video vibes to the mainstream, triggering the creation of a movie in 2002, and the picture did remarkably well. The brand as returned in many sequels and even a spin-off over the years, and it seemed that 2022’s “Jackass Forever” was going to be a swan song for the original crew. After all, these once young men of extreme bodily pain were getting older, and audiences were moving on to different offerings of stupidity, giving Johnny Knoxville and his crew a chance to bow out gracefully. However, the “Jackass” crew isn’t one to leave money on the table, resulting in the creation of “Jackass: Best and Last,” which offers a mix of new shenanigans and clips from previous installments. It’s a brazen teat-squeeze from the “Jackass” universe, with the production merely out to be a cash machine, not a fresh round of slapstick and bullying from goofballs who’ve been hurting themselves for the entertainment of others for nearly three decades. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Supergirl

    In 2025, Warner Brothers did something few Hollywood studios do, gambling on the success of a movie that wasn’t even out yet, putting a semi-sequel in motion before the first picture was ready for the masses. The movie was “Superman,” with writer/director James Gunn using his power with DC Studios to make sure the new “DCU” universe was up and running by sending “Supergirl” into production right away, out to sustain whatever momentum he could build with his take on the Man of Steel. “Superman” did well enough (there’s a sequel due out next summer) and, a year later, there’s “Supergirl,” which attempts to match the first film’s quirky Gunn-ness and love of superhero activity, though the helmer has been replaced by Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya,” “Cruella”), and the tone of the material (scripted by Ana Nogueira) is considerably darker. Much like its predecessor, the new feature isn’t a consistent endeavor, but it’s boosted by fine acting from lead Milly Alcock, and Gillespie certainly gets momentum going early in the offering, finding ways to generate a thrilling first half before the whole thing comes to a stop. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Young Washington

    Jon and Andrew Erwin are Christian directors who’ve specialized in religious stories over the course of their career. They’ve experienced a few hits (“I Can Only Imagine,” “Jesus Revolution”) and a few misses (“I Can Only Imagine 2,” “American Underdog”), remaining with faith-based filmmaking to help attract a specific audience. Leaving Godly might behind, the Erwin Brothers turn to early American history for inspiration with “Young Washington,” attempting to cash in on sesquicentennial fever (or lack thereof) with a dramatization of George Washington’s early days of military service during the French and Indian War. The endeavor hopes to track the formation of the subject’s bravery and dedication to American persistence, but the Erwins don’t provide a cinematic atmosphere for the picture, lacking determination to turn the tale into a fiery understanding of character and purpose. I cannot tell a lie, dear reader: this is one incredibly mediocre movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Couture

    “Couture” is a film about the fashion industry that has very little interest in the ways of the fashion industry. It’s the latest endeavor from writer/director Alice Winocour (“Paris Memories,” “Proxima”), who looks to examine various women involved in a Fashion Week event, showing more interest in personal lives and troubling times than the emergence of style during pressurized days. It’s a drama with several perspectives, challenging Winocour to juggle the personalities as they all experience extraordinary pressure during this time period, while one is faced with the ultimate in life-changing news. “Couture” isn’t interested in generating defined lines of drama, and it doesn’t provide the most powerful ending, but the feature stays involving as it investigates bottled emotions and career realities. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Get Out

    Six years ago, director Derrick Borte and actor Russell Crowe collaborated on the thriller, “Unhinged.” The B-movie was released during prime pandemic days, and it managed to find a small audience during a stretch of zero multiplex competition. It took a bit of time, but the pair are back with “The Get Out,” which is an adaptation of a 2010 novel by Thomas Perry. Borte and co-writer Daniel Forte attempt to find some balance to the story’s tonal highs and lows, with the crime saga taking occasional dips into comedy before it fully commits to violent events. “The Get Out” opens with noticeable confidence, but there are a lot of characters and motivations to manage, and Borte doesn’t have the stamina to pull off the labor. It’s uneven work, but the first half remains inviting with its collection of odd characters and their stressful connections to monetary theft. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Citizen Vigilante

    Uwe Boll. Now there’s a name that hasn’t been publicized in a long time. The notoriously schlocky director caused a little chaos around two decades ago with a series of awful, video game-inspired pictures (“House of the Dead,” “Alone in the Dark,” “BloodRayne”) that turned Boll into an Ed Wood-style helmer, only without the B-movie charm. He hasn’t stopped working, still churning out no-budget endeavors, but Boll is back on the hunt for publicity, crafting “Citizen Vigilante,” which hopes to inspire some rage with its look at the migrant issue in Europe. Boll doesn’t up his filmmaking game in the process, but he does court controversy, hiring Armie Hammer for the lead role years after his own troubling behavior caught up with him, effectively ending his already fledgling Hollywood career. However, he’s back in action, attempting to look stern for Boll, who works to build an entire movie around hard stares and poor execution, serving up what appears to be a genuinely unfinished feature that’s solely out to antagonize with its intense idiocy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Lucky Strike

    Rod Lurie found some attention with his pandemic release, 2020’s “The Outpost.” The picture brought audiences into the middle of combat pressures during the Iraq War, with Lurie looking to generate a look at the brutality of service and the sacrifice of soldiers. While he messed around with inspirational football drama in 2025’s “The Senior,” Lurie returns to global conflict with “Lucky Strike,” which is set during the “Battle of the Bulge” during World War II, but it isn’t a full-scale war movie. The co-writer/director goes smaller in scale, electing to follow one man’s quest to survive behind enemy lines, facing brutal conditions, a leg wound, and waves of Nazis as he strives to make it back to safety. “Lucky Strike” has the makings of a pulse-pounding thriller, offering a defined goal and plenty of setbacks, but Lurie remains oddly muted with the endeavor, trying to create a respectful understanding of sacrifice instead of a more feral one. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – In the Hand of Dante

    Co-writer/director Julian Schnabel was last seen on screens in 2018’s “At Eternity’s Gate,” trying to make sense of personal and artistic struggles involving Vincent van Gogh in a feature that didn’t attract much of an audience. Schnabel is known for artful undertakings that strive to burrow into character experiences, and he returns with another study of stress in “In the Hand of Dante,” which is an adaptation of a 2002 book by Nick Tosches. The tale covers two time periods and lots of trouble coming for all characters, and there are moments when Schnabel actively pursues something of a crime story involving the theft and authentication of Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy.” There are blasts of aggression and research that give the helmer something to do, but there’s also a hunt for artistic meaning and inspiration that makes the viewing experience feel endless (the picture runs around 160 minutes), with Schnabel trying to generate an epic, and visibly straining to do so. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – 40 Dates and 40 Nights

    “40 Dates and 40 Nights” returns viewers to the routine of the romantic comedy. There are seemingly hundreds of these kind of movies being pumped out every year, and screenwriter Sarah Howard is trying to keep up with the competition, creating another tale of a young woman facing the brutal ways of the dating scene while on the hunt for one functional male. There’s a gimmick in play, as the main character is tasked with completing a series of dates to achieve a taste of financial security, but Howard doesn’t dig into the comedic possibilities of the premise. Instead, she generates the mildest picture imaginable, going slo-mo with relationship and personal challenges to happiness. “40 Dates and 40 Nights” is certainly soft enough, with functional performances to follow, but there’s no snap to the offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Descendant of the Sun

    Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s a man dressed in gold speeding around the sky in a beam of light! After 1978’s “Superman” managed to deliver a truly epic take on the comic book superhero, also scoring big at the box office, copycats were sure to follow. One of the more bizarre riffs on the Richard Donner film is 1982’s “Descendant of the Sun,” with the Shaw Brothers trying to transform the American blockbuster into a tale of Chinese folklore. The production attempts to mirror the saga of Kal-El and his heroic destiny, going the wuxia route with director Chu Yuan, who strives to deliver a spirited take on action/fantasy cinema, keeping the endeavor loaded with violent encounters and special effects as good takes on evil for control of a kingdom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • 4K UHD Review – Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

    “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” originally aired as an “ABC Movie of the Week” in 1973, presented as an evening with something scary for the Halloween season. It was a quickie endeavor, beginning production just over a month before it was presented to the public, but it apparently left a lasting mark on viewers, continuing to do so through the power of syndication. Much like “Bad Ronald” and “Trilogy of Terror,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is a genre effort that’s managed to capture the imagination of many, with its offering of the creeps managing to sustain the picture’s reputation for decades, even inspiring a 2011 remake from producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro. One certainly can’t challenge the simple pleasures of T.V. terror, and while the offering is far from commanding, director John Newland manages to summon some appealing weirdness with a tiny budget and extremely limited production time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • 4K UHD Review – The Phantom of the Opera (1998)

    For 1998’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” director Dario Argento sets out to find the horror and dark romance of the story, also co-scripting the endeavor, putting his own spin on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 tale of obsession. What Argento actually ends up with is something of a mess, with a clear line between creative intent and budgetary reality. “The Phantom of the Opera” means to be erotic and sincere, but the production often veers into extreme horror and slapstick comedy shake up the viewing experience, and Argento shows very little control over the frightfully uneven, unpolished movie. The helmer hopes to deliver an overwhelming viewing experience of sight and sound, only to end up with one of his most disappointing films. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • 4K UHD Review – Terror Firmer

    1999’s “Terror Firmer” is an adaptation of the book, “All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger,” written by Troma Entertainment honcho Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. Trying to dramatize the real-life hellacious experience of making movies, Kaufman hopes to bring his expertise to the screen, doing so with Troma’s usual offering of bodily fluids, gore, nudity, slapstick comedy, and an aging punk attitude. “Terror Firmer” could’ve been a rascally endeavor poking fun at the Troma process and the torture of low-budget filmmaking, but Kaufman isn’t in a self-reflective mood. Instead of B-movie illumination, Kaufman simply makes the same kind of Troma feature all over again, getting aggressive with gross-outs and volcanic overacting, returning to his ringmaster role for a cinematic circus that feels endless. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Voicemails for Isabelle

    Surprisingly, “Voicemails for Isabelle” isn’t based a book. It’s romantic novel material from writer/director Leah McKendrick (“Scrambled”), who’s working with subgenre formula to deliver an easily digestible viewing experience built on big feels and easily avoidable relationship issues. The helmer is serving pudding to the masses with the picture, but she has a fully committed performance from Zoey Deutch to keep things interesting, with the actress going nuclear to help bring some spirit to an otherwise mediocre collection of wild tonal shifts and strange dramatic detours. “Voicemails for Isabelle” tries extremely hard to be lovable, but McKendrick overdoses on cliches and can’t quite find the true heart of the material, pushing the whole endeavor into sitcom territory instead of generating a more meaningful understanding of grief and human connection. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Chapter 51

    “Chapter 51” is a film about filmmaking, using all kinds of cinematic formats, and it’s structured like a television documentary. Confusion runs throughout the offering, as writer/director/actor/cinematographer Tyler Shields (2015’s “Final Girl”) is out to make a study of madness surrounding the creation of “Dissident,” which is meant to be the biggest film of all time. However, Shields doesn’t have a lot of money to realize the reality of his story, following an investigation into the vicious ways of a serial killer targeting actresses connected to the picture. “Chapter 51” is an odd collection of satire and sleuthing, and the material’s understanding of Hollywood egomania isn’t provocative. The endeavor is more of a technical exercise for Shields, who gets more excited about imagery than storytelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Toy Story 5

    A lot of people were understandably trepidatious when Pixar Animation elected to make “Toy Story 4.” The original trilogy has come to mean a lot to fans, including many who’ve grown up on the movies, and any non-short extension of the franchise was viewed as a corruption of creativity. And then “Toy Story 4” was released, revealing itself to be a fully charming, hilarious, and meaningful addition to the saga. Now there’s “Toy Story 5,” with co-writer/director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E,” “Finding Dory”) attempting to keep the saga of the playthings and their eternal battle with anxiety alive for at least another feature. And, once again, Pixar has the right idea to keep returning to “Toy Story,” creating another gem of a picture that offers time with old friends and makes a few new ones. It also dares to take on the modern world of omnipresent tech and how physical pals manage to exist in the long shadow of digital distractions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Maddie’s Secret

    John Early is known for his comedic roles, developing a reputation for his commitment to wacky business through a variety of projects. He makes his directorial debut with “Maddie’s Secret,” also taking care of scripting duties and starring in the feature, portraying a character experiencing a professional high while reaching a mental health low. The endeavor has the outward appearance of something campy, with Early taking on the central role as a troubled woman in the middle of a major crisis. “Maddie’s Secret” is certainly an unusual movie, with Early teasing broadness while remaining impressively compassionate with the material, which leads into light and dark moments. The helmer has quite a challenge of tonality to master with the offering, and Early does a commendable job balancing ideas and emotions in the effort, which is always surprising with its plot turns and directorial confidence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com