Britt Allcroft struck gold when she figured out a way to translate the works of author Wilbert Awdry into "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends," a British television show that began life in 1984. What started as a small offering of children's entertainment grew into a phenomenon, enjoying huge ratings, a massively successful merchandise push, and an American transition in "Shining Time Station," bringing Thomas fever overseas. Allcroft eventually set her sights on the big screen, combining worlds for 2000's "Thomas and the Magic Railroad," taking command of the production as a co-writer/director, attempting to add to the realms of Sodor and Shining Time with a more sophisticated adventure for human and trains. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Falling” is the directorial debut for veteran actor Viggo Mortensen (who also scripts). He digs into his own experiences dealing with parental dementia to inspire the screenplay, which presents a bitter battle of memory and judgement between an ailing father and his patient son. The picture is tough, never flinching when detailing the verbal and physical violence associated with a failing mind, and while Mortensen uses this nerve pinch of horror to deliver some heated exchanges, he largely creates a poetic understanding of family friction, examining the journey to resentment and tough love. “Falling” is accomplished work from Mortensen, who comes to the feature fully prepared to deal with all the distress the premise offers, putting his faith into Lance Henriksen’s lead performance as a scattered man succumbing to his fate, giving the actor room to explore a volatile but privately vulnerable character. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two years ago, director Lisa Downs dipped her toe in the warm waters of nostalgia with the documentary “Life After Flash,” which detailed the career of “Flash Gordon” star Sam Jones and the making of the 1980 cult masterpiece. Downs offered a compelling overview of Jones’s life after his most successful acting assignment, working to juggle a story of personal evolution with the nuts and bolts of “Flash Gordon,” trying to give fans everything they’ve been searching for. It was an intimate offering, and now Downs is looking to turn such filmmaking into a business with “Life After the Navigator,” which details the monumental life challenges actor Joey Cramer encountered after appearing in 1986’s “Flight of the Navigator.” With Cramer, Downs has more of a challenge when it comes to achieving tonal balance, dealing the highs of a strange but fascinating Disney release and the lows of drug addiction and crime, with Cramer struggling to survive after experiencing early success as a child actor. “Life After the Navigator” is an easy fit for Downs’s series, but it’s also a tale that doesn’t always deal smoothly with the extreme ways of the subject. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Mike Cahill made his first impression with 2011’s “Another Earth,” a sci-fi brain bleeder that attracted attention from critics and audiences, establishing interest in his career. He followed it up with “I Origins,” another mind bender that came and went quickly, unable to dazzle viewers taking a chance on another Cahill puzzle. He’s been away from feature filmmaking for seven years, returning with “Bliss,” which isn’t a drastic creative risk for the helmer, who reunites with the mysteries of the mind and the pains of the heart. Cahill only has the makings of a short with the endeavor, unable to squeeze enough drama out of the material, but there’s something here worth exploring, including a different approach to understanding the experience of drug addiction and mental illness, getting inside a melting mind instead of merely observing someone in the midst of a downward spiral. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While producers scramble to explore the world’s current pandemic situation with timely tales of separation and mounting frustration, “Little Fish” actually captures a familiar escalation of confusion and fear, perfectly in step with today’s daily news. The picture was shot nearly two years ago and doesn’t deal with the COVID-19 universe, but screenwriter Mattson Tomlin (adapting a short story by Aja Gabel) and director Chad Hartigan offer a vivid understanding of helplessness in the face of a public health crisis. The idea presented here is one of memory, with something happening to the population as individuals start to succumb to mental health issues. It all comes across eerily familiar, but the production remains on a dramatic path, dealing with the warmth of love and the challenges of a relationship, especially one that’s slowly being forgotten by two people desperate to save it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I don’t envy studio marketing departments, who are often tasked with selling difficult films to the general public, forced try anything to attract an audience. “The Right One” is a classic example of marketing misdirection, as the poster art promises a romantic comedy about a woman trying to deal with a man of many personalities, offering a beaming smile while her love interest is depicted in many stages of comical dress up. Fun? Well, the feature is actually about a journey of immense grief, examining coping mechanisms for a traumatized guy who can’t express his pain, dealing with his issues through denial. “The Right One” is a mess from writer/director Ken Mok, who probably had a cohesive idea at one point in the creative journey, losing his nerve with a pitch-black drama that’s suddenly trying to be sweet and silly at the worst moments. For those sitting down with the movie in hopes of enjoying the escapism promised on the poster, please adjust your expectations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Rams” is a remake of a 2015 Icelandic film. It’s been reimaged for an Australian setting, and lengthened by writer Jules Duncan, who spends more time in the tale, which involves a disturbing development in a farming community that prides itself on a love of animals and the land. The Icelandic version was compelling, with a balanced examination of comedy and drama, playing up a central crisis of brotherly estrangement. The update pursues a community atmosphere, with director Jeremy Sims (“Last Cab to Darwin”) enjoying his time with a range of actors, occasionally slowing the feature down to detail ensemble interplay. “Rams” remains approachable despite a bleak premise, and it certainly helps to have Sam Neill and Michael Caton in the lead roles, giving the endeavor richly communicative performances with limited dialogue. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps those jonesing for something in the same vein as 2019’s “Midsommar” might be the right audience for “Sacrifice.” Adapting a short story by Paul Kane and crediting H.P. Lovecraft as a storytelling influence, writer/director Toor Mian and Andy Collier attempt to summon a spooky mood of remote Norwegian evil involving the presence of a cult and psychological pressure applied to two Americans new to the area. “Sacrifice” doesn’t emerge with much authority, with the helmers aiming to achieve more of an unsettling viewing experience than an overtly violent one. The end result isn’t thunderous, with Mian and Collier going the slow-burn route to chills, but they still come up short with any sort of fear factor. There’s style and atmospheric churn, but the feature doesn’t deliver where it counts the most, taking the long way to an unsatisfying destination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s surprising to see director Neil Marshall back behind a camera so soon after tanking his shot to revive the world of “Hellboy” for the big screen. The 2019 release was mostly terrible, highlighting Marshall’s shortcomings as a helmer who’s spent his career chasing violent, bloody stories of monstrous conflict and war. He’s a genre guy, and now he’s trying to make do with a limited budget for “The Reckoning,” which is something of a vanity project for Marshall, collaborating with actress Charlotte Kirk, aiming to turn his girlfriend into a major action star. It’s a strange project all-around, trying to conjure a period world of plague horrors and “witch finder” monologuing, also delivering sexuality and scenes of torture. Marshall attempts to bring bigness to Kirk’s presence, but the feature is woefully small and silly, offering a community theater vibe for material that’s looking to be merciless and dramatically thunderous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s been a multitude of stories concerning the horrors of World War II brought to the screen, and there will be many more to come. It remains fertile dramatic ground to explore tales of heroism and suffering, giving producers more of a black and white opportunity to inspect personal sacrifice in the middle of a world-changing conflict. For “Dara of Jasenovac,” focus moves away from American and European concerns, highlighting the torturous experience of Croatia during the Ustase years, following one 10-year-old girl’s odyssey through a concentration camp system as she tries to keep her two-year-old brother alive. There’s perspective here worth noting, adding to the history of WWII, but there’s little in “Dara of Jasenovac” that hasn’t been done before, and by stronger filmmakers. It’s 130 minutes of hardship that quickly loses its impact, as director Predrag Antonijevic grows obsessed with finding new ways to photograph mental and physical breakdowns, creating an especially difficult sit for anyone beside students of history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a comedic force of nature, there are few industry professionals working today as talented as Martin Short. He's a legend in the business, skilled with silliness, but also a fiercely gifted actor with a proven resume on television and on the stage. It's his movie career that's been a strange ride for the star, finding the demands of film production often unable to bring out his best, muting his sharp wit and endless interest in mischief. In 1990, Short had minor successes and positive notices in a handful of disparate offerings ("Three Fugitives," "Three Amigos," and "Innerspace"), but "Clifford" was meant to really play to his strengths, gifting him a chance to portray a devilish 10-year-old boy, despite being 40 years of age at the time. It's certainly not the strangest idea to come out of Hollywood, but "Clifford" is out there, asking viewers to go along with a visual concept that's bizarre from any angle, while the story itself mostly involves aggressive interplay between Short and his co-star, Charles Grodin. There are plenty of laughs here, and Short is clearly having a ball portraying a Damien-like kid, but the picture is an acquired taste, built for those who enjoy their slapstick seasoned with a little anger and volume. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2018's "B: The Beginning" is hoping to distinguish itself in the crowded world of Japanese animation by offering fans of the subgenre a byzantine story to follow. What appears to begin as a police thriller about a vigilante serial killer soon spins off into a hundred different directions, covering myth, sci- fi, fantasy, kink, and action. There's a lot on the show's plate, and the production team isn't completely interested in untangling many of its plot threads. "B: The Beginning" is artfully made and impressively expansive, but such ambition doesn't result in a clear, concise understanding of the characters and their goals, which would be of great assistance to those untrained in the anime way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1974's "Death Wish" was a big deal in the careers of actor Charles Bronson and director Michael Winner. It not only gave them a big hit to sustain their careers, it delivered a vivid portrayal of vigilante violence that spawned numerous imitators, endeavoring to supply an imagined sense of emotional realism when dealing with exploitation cinema. While a singular viewing experience, the feature inspired a sequel in 1982, with Cannon Films sensing a future in the brand name, putting Winner and Bronson back to work with an unnecessary continuation that began to bend the franchise into absurdity while trying to remain serious about acts of revenge. For 1985's "Death Wish 3," there was nothing left in the creative tank, giving Winner a chance to run wild with the one-man-army concept, pitting Bronson against a street gang in an NYC brawl, offering no social commentary or interesting psychological analysis. It's just an over-the-top battle royal with mindless violence, thinly sketched characters, and a single city block to destroy. And that's exactly what makes "Death Wish 3" so compulsively watchable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com