• Film Review – Digger

    Throughout his career, writer/director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has set out to make challenging movies about unusual subjects and characters. He hit it big at the box office with endeavors such as 2015’s “The Revenant” and 2014’s “Birdman,” proving he could find an audience for his artful, idiosyncratic ways. Such a mission might be a little more difficult in the case of “Digger,” which looks to be incredibly obnoxious and broad throughout much of its run time, only to hide its true ideas deep within the folds of an abrasive viewing experience. Perhaps a few will find the genius once again, but “Digger” doesn’t make it easy, with the picture an intense study of excess from every conceivable angle, pushing down hard on the audience with volcanic thespian energy. It’s more of an endurance test than a film, but Inarritu is after something with the offering, though he doesn’t make it easy to follow him to the end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Sacrifice

    Co-writer/director Romain Gavras (“The World is Yours,” “Athena”) is looking to make a statement on celebrity and environmental activism in “Sacrifice,” and doing so through the wily ways of a dark comedy. At least for about 30 minutes. And it’s a good 30 minutes, working with well-trodden topics such as the cluelessness and insecurity of famous people, and the emptiness of galas that use excess to spotlight urgency. Gavras finds amusing caricatures to play with, locating a few laughs while setting up insanity to come. However, the rest of “Sacrifice” isn’t quite as inspired. Gavras and co-writer Will Arbery struggle to turn broadness into something dramatic, losing their nerve with satire as they begin to take the central crisis seriously, trusting the audience has grown attached to shallow characters and their various battles with self-esteem and mythical purpose. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Dolph: Unbreakable

    To film fans, Dolph Lundgren has been part of action cinema history, cementing his screen legacy with turns in “Rocky IV,” “Masters of the Universe,” and “Universal Soldier.” He was never a mainstream icon, but a star of a different kind, offering a bold presence and capable physicality to deliver all the hits when necessary, developing as an actor along the way. “Dolph: Unbreakable” is a documentary exploring Lungren’s life and times, getting past his thespian stoicism to understand the man that found his way into acting after enduring a rough childhood and unusual adolescence. Director Andrew Holmes doesn’t have the drive to really slice into Lundgren’s personal history, but he provides a fascinating overview of professional achievement, also acquiring intimacy with the details of a cancer battle that threatened to take the subject’s life not too long ago. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – I Hate Myself and Want to Die

    Writer/director J. Davis (“Manson Family Vacation”) is taking a risk with his latest endeavor. The title alone is probably going to be a tough sell for any audience, as “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” doesn’t exactly promise a bright and inviting viewing experience. The material doesn’t help the cause, trying to find the lighter side of suicide with a depress character who’s attempting to end it all one sunny afternoon in his home town. It comes as some relief to find the effort actually quite approachable, at least for those with a darker sense of humor. “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” scores many laughs along the way, with Davis attentive to the strange struggles of life and the odd comfort that comes with community, even with those who aren’t welcome. There’s a life-affirming message in here, and the helmer wisely keeps his picture short enough to find it, delivering an unusual offering of comedy that’s engagingly acted and charmingly irritable at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Atonement (2026)

    There have been many features exploring the lasting violence of the Iraq War. It’s a moment in history that’s loaded with troubling experiences and furious emotionality, giving filmmakers a chance to construct high drama with nuanced reactions to trauma in many forms. “Atonement” is another chapter in this story of woe, with writer/director Reed Van Dyk (making his helming debut) adapting a 2012 New Yorker article by Dexter Filkins, which detailed the experiences of a soldier trying to make sense of his time in combat, out to meet with the Iraqi family he forever changed during a day of duty in 2003. “Atonement” isn’t pursuing a plot-heavy picture, electing to concentrate on character reactions to horrible situations of guilt and personal loss. Van Dyk has the right tone for the offering, which focuses on turbulent feelings churning within those involved in the situation, following them as they process all that’s happened while hoping for some type of contact in the pursuit of forgiveness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – April X

    The release of “April X” is going to work extremely hard to utilize the success of its star, Connor Storrie, who rocketed to online superfame with his work on the 2025 television series, “Heated Rivalry.” The movie was shot before Storrie showed his stuff on the show, and the producers are happy to use his name to attract viewers to an endeavor they wouldn’t otherwise pay attention to. Co-writer/director Michel K. Parandi is attempting to make a mind-blowing dystopian noir with fantasy touches and plenty of futurism in play, providing a knotted tale of cloning, organ harvesting, and memory recording, out to generate his own take on “Blade Runner”-esque happenings with glum, angry characters. “April X” wants to be smart and visually sharp, but execution is severely mangled in the offering, which puts together baffling writing and performances, making for a long sit as Parandi stumbles with his world-building. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows

    In 2003, Andy Baio, a young man from Portland, went to the internet to learn more about the new online discoveries of the day. Instead of news or information, Andy found a video featuring a teenage boy taking a minute to try out some fight choreography with a golf ball retriever acting as a double-bladed lightsaber. His moves were unpolished and the moment unguarded, but the tape was soon discovered by classmates, who decided to isolate the clip and post it online, presumably to humiliate the young man. Andy loved the clip, quickly remixing it and renaming it “Star Wars Kid,” putting it on his blog, where the video went viral in a hurry. Ghyslain Reza’s life was forever altered afterwards. “Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows” examines the return of Reza to public view, with director Mathieu Fournier following the subject as he reconnects with his “Star Wars Kid” past, emerging as an older, wiser man who wants to share parts of his story with the public, interested in teaching others about his horrible experience with viral video exposure, also exploring the damaging ways of social media as it stands today. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Cuddly Toys

    In 2017, I reviewed a film titled “B.C. Butcher.” It was the directorial debut for Kansas Bowling, a teenager who pulled together a tiny budget and called on the thespian power of Kato Kaelin to help to bring to life a tribute to juvenile and monster cinema of the 1950s and ’60s. Bowling kept the endeavor short (52 minutes) and campy, out to create a fun time for those brave enough to sit through it. 2022’s “Cuddly Toys” brings Bowling back to screens, only any sense of humor has been fully removed from her filmmaking interests. Instead of another goof, the helmer gets sobering with “Cuddly Toys,” which tries to revive underground cinema interests as Bowling turns her attention to the mistreatment of women and the predatory ways of men. She has a Big Idea to inspect here, but Bowling delivers a meandering, intentionally abrasive viewing experience, severely limiting the impact of whatever message she’s trying to offer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Let’s Talk Sex

    1983’s “Let’s Talk Sex” returns viewers to the days of telecommunication magic, where lonely people and the adventurous elected to take their carnal desires to the phone, working out whatever pleasures they were pursuing. Co-writer/director Paul Vatelli escalates the phone sex business in the picture, aiming to bring to life special erotic appetites featuring a large cast and a varied sense of bedroom experiences. “Let’s Talk Sex” has its odd ways, but the episodic approach generally works in Vatelli’s favor, giving him an opportunity to keep the endeavor compelling, examining different situations of seductions while having some fun with the phone-based storytelling approach. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Nasty Nurses

    Most adult films are created to offer an escape. It’s usually fantasy put on screen for audience enjoyment, delivering a heightened sense of carnality for cheap thrills and to reach deeper desires. 1982’s “Nasty Nurses” has a title typical of the industry, offering a blunt name for what’s intended to be erotic entertainment. However, co-writer/director Paul Vatelli is dealing with a recession-era America at the time of production, and he’s not in the mood for fun and games. He aims for a touch of reality to the endeavor, bringing viewers into a hospital that’s struggling with financial issues and staffing, unsure if there’s even going to be a medical center around as funding woes increase. “Nasty Nurses” isn’t a cold slap viewing experience, but it tries to be more dramatic than expected, poking around relationship and business woes while Vatelli delivers the usual stops in adult cinema highlights. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Bloody Tennis

    “Bloody Tennis” is a strong, direct title. It’s not explicitly a sports picture, but it’s not entirely a horror film either, with writer/director Nikias Chryssos trying to get very strange with an endeavor that appears to be primarily inspired by Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” minus the overt dips into witchcraft. The tale concerns the arrival of a young woman at a remote tennis academy, fighting the competition and her own sanity to survive various tests of endurance. Chryssos isn’t fully committed to the dramatic possibilities of the premise, going more for the freak-out, getting gory and bizarre with the effort, which never passes on a chance to gift most of the cast opportunities to get weird. “Bloody Tennis” isn’t for everyone, but for those who are capable of sticking with a chiller that’s definitely out there, the movie has its moments of intensity and unpleasantness, making for a decent sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Unabomber

    The life and times of Ted Kaczynski is not something that’s been hidden from view. There’s plenty of media out there for anyone looking to understand how the man orchestrated the deaths of innocent people during his time as a serial bomber. Screenwriters Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves are in the mood to turn the capture of Kaczynski into a thriller, which has been done before, but also examine the man’s early years at Harvard, where he volunteered to join a special psychological study, only to have the program change him in many ways. “Unabomber” isn’t the most informative understanding of insanity, but as an overview of mind-bending frustration, the picture manages to unearth compelling areas of pain to explore. The rest of the feature doesn’t share the same intensity, but director Janus Metz (“All the Old Knives,” “Borg vs. McEnroe”) gets halfway there as head games tend to dominate more physical law enforcement work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Deputy

    “The Deputy” is an adaptation of a 2009 Victor Gischler novel, and director Matt Sukkar makes his feature-length helming debut with the picture. He has a lot to manage with the material (scripted by Carlo Bernard), which explores a part-time deputy’s experiences during an evening of active law enforcement events. Sukkar is mostly interested in a Coen Brothers-type of tone for the movie, which plays with dark comedy and heavy violence, and the tale gets a major charge out of unexpected discoveries made by a character who can’t always process what’s happening to him. “The Deputy” doesn’t win on energy, as the production goes slow-burn for the most part, which doesn’t always encourage suspense. However, performances are largely where they should be, and turns of plot are handled well, giving viewers a maze to navigate as bad things happen to troubled people. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Love Hypothesis

    Some films have crazy origin stories. For “The Love Hypothesis,” the project originated in the mind of author Ali Hazlewood, who wanted to do something with her “Star Wars” fandom, electing to feed into the “Reylo” craze and create an offering of fan fiction that brought the sequel characters of Rey and Ben Solo into the world of graduate school. Hazlewood eventually went on to rework her writing to fit fiction needs, ending up with a more traditional, less Sith-infused story of romance and high-pressure academic performance. Such an industry journey isn’t unheard of (“Fifty Shades of Grey” began life as “Twilight” fanfic), but it remains an interestingly bizarre origin story for material that’s no longer weird, but a fairly standard romantic comedy. “The Love Hypothesis” is now a movie, and it doesn’t have lightsabers, but there’s charm from stars Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman (who, amazingly, is married in real life to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the sequels), who help to elevate a formulaic but occasionally involving story of deception and burgeoning feelings. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Heart of the Beast

    Director David Ayer has been focused on adrenalized storytelling for as long as he’s been making movies. He’s addicted to the rush of violence, exploring big hurt in pictures such as “End of Watch,” “Fury,” and “The Beekeeper,” so it comes as something of a surprise to see Ayer calm down for a change with “Heart of the Beast.” Written by Cameron Alexander, the film is mostly about a battle for survival involving an ex-military man and his specially trained dog as they try to find safety after being stranded in the wilds of Alaska. It’s reminiscent of 2000’s “Cast Away,” only instead of Wilson, there’s a pooch serving as companion and mental health protector as the dangers of the world come for the characters. “Heart of the Beast” is terrific when Ayer trusts in spare suspense and natural elements, creating some incredibly tense scenes of endurance. Such confidence and quiet doesn’t last all the way through the endeavor, but the production gets most of the way there with this tale of partnership. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Primetime

    “Primetime” isn’t the complete story of the “To Catch a Predator” television series. It’s a slice of lurid activity concerning the actions of the production team, who worked hard to expose dangerous men to viewers, while also enjoying the ratings such confrontations triggered. The screenplay (by Ajon Singh) adapts a 2007 magazine article about host Chris Hansen and his unusual relationship with fame, which resulted in the suicide of a suspect as he hunted for more powerful targets. Director Lance Oppenheim (“Some Kind of Heaven”) doesn’t stick to the facts of the case in full, preferring to use the troubling situation to launch a bizarre understanding of Hansen’s mind and actions, bringing in commentary on the T.V. business, the world of acting, and the evil around us to help bring texture to a darkly comedic endeavor that’s out to surprise viewers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Stunt Driver

    Ken Carter was a Canadian stunt driver who wanted to taste glory by making himself known as the world’s greatest daredevil. His white whale was a super jump over the St. Lawrence River, with the planned act of automobile flight repeatedly delayed and disturbed by monetary, safety, and mental health concerns. Carter’s life was previously explored in the 1981 documentary, “The Devil at Your Heels,” with director Robert Fortier offered intimate access to the subject’s planning and concerns. Writer/director Michael Dowse (the excellent “Goon,” but also “Stuber” and “Coffee & Kareem”) looks to dramatize the movie with “The Stunt Driver,” adding bits of fiction to fluff up Carter’s battle with his self-esteem as he hopes to overtake Evel Knievel as the premiere man of action. The offering hits most of Carter’s highlights, likely reaching an audience that knows little about the man, giving star Jay Baruchel a chance to shine with his excellent performance, which gets the endeavor to dramatic places Dowse’s writing can’t reach on its own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – One Last Shot

    After spending time guiding a disappointing actioner (“Wildcat”) and a weak horror film about killer hippos (“Hungry”), director James Nunn is back in familiar cinematic territory with “One Last Shot.” It’s the second sequel to “One Shot,” a 2021 endeavor that combined B-movie action with the gimmick of a single, unbroken take to help bring something different to the usual in conflict and choreography. The picture was entertaining, and the creative team (including screenwriter Jamie Russell and star Scott Adkins) reunited for 2024’s “One More Shot,” which also delivered decently compelling tension and moviemaking trickery. “One Last Shot” carries a title and tone of finality, and while the future for the franchise is unclear, the latest installment isn’t quite as interested in excitement as the previous offerings, with Nunn showing signs of fatigue as he tries to summon passable threat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Lemonade Blessing

    Jake Ryan has been a working actor since he was a child, gaining notice for his collaborations with Wes Anderson, appearing in such pictures as “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Isle of Dogs,” and “Asteroid City.” He receives a chance to show his stuff in “Lemonade Blessing,” with writer/director Chris Merola providing an interesting acting challenge for Ryan, who’s tasked with playing a teenager going through significant psychological trouble while handling various challenges in life and love. The endeavor also has the weight of religion to carry, with Merola using faith to add pressure to the players, taxing their already overwhelmed minds. “Lemonade Blessing” is a comedy, albeit a dark one, but it’s not the usual in tiresome R-rated shenanigans featuring adolescents. Merola enjoys taboo humor and boundary pushing, but he’s also out to general a humane understanding of confusion with kids and adults, locating fascinating areas of distress during the journey. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Demon of Paradise

    Director Cirio H. Santiago (“Death Force,” “Equalizer 2000,” and “Dune Warriors”) typically doesn’t make films with much care. He’s a B-movie machine, cranking out low-budget titles for tiny profits, spending a little time with producer Roger Corman along the way. Part of this era includes 1987’s “Demon in Paradise,” with screenwriters Frederick Bailey and C.J. Santiago trying to update monster movies from the 1950s for a more contemporary audience, but doing so without changing much in the way of formula or production polish. Instead of coming up with something even just a tad inventive, the helmer remains with the usual in “Demon of Paradise,” which tests patience as it delivers no frights and little drama while it tries to assume the position of a terrifying genre offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com