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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nABANDONED \u2013 A woman suffering from postpartum depression\ndecides to move to the country with her husband and infant. They pick a remote\nfarmhouse\u2026 always a bad idea! Soon after arriving, she begins witnessing\nstrange apparitions. Her psychological issues begin to intensify as the family\nstarts experiencing more and more phenomena, leaving the lives of everyone,\nincluding their newborn, in grave danger. The press was not impressed by this\nindependent horror film. A small number thought that while predictable, the\nlead performance was intriguing and kept them intrigued. The rest complained\nthat the characters weren\u2019t fully developed or relatable and that the final\nproduct wasn\u2019t compelling or tense. It stars Emma Roberts, John Gallagher Jr.,\nPaul Schneider and Michael Shannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTHE AMUSEMENT PARK \u2013 This new release is actually a recently recovered \u201clost\u201d film from George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow, Day of the Dead<\/em>). It was commissioned by the Lutheran Society in the 1970s to inform viewers about the poor treatment of the elderly, but the final product was considered too disturbing to release. The hour-long effort follows an elderly gentleman who visits a nightmarish amusement park and suffers many chilling indignities. This title was initially streamed on Shudder and is now arriving on Blu-ray. Response was almost uniformly positive. One or two commented that this picture wasn\u2019t as strong as the filmmaker\u2019s classics and didn\u2019t grab them. Everyone else thought that while it wasn\u2019t his finest work, it was a very effective commentary on how elders are treated with disrespect by the public and government. Lincoln Maazel headlines the title. Read this site’s full review of the feature here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n BLOOM UP: A SWINGER COUPLE STORY \u2013 This documentary involves\na middle-aged Italian husband and wife who are pet shop owners. The pair decide\nto give swinging a try and a film crew follows them as they experiment with\nthis new lifestyle. The distributor states that the movie is sex-positive and\npresents the material in a non-vulgar or exploitative manner. Response towards\nthe picture was slightly more upbeat than negative. Those who disliked it\nthought that the director didn\u2019t really have much to say about swinging, nor\ndid the film offer much insight into the subjects or how they were affected by\ntheir intimate experiences with others. Still, more thought it was an honest\nlook at relationships and how some have altered their approach in order to make\nthem last. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CAVE RESCUE \u2013 The last year has already seen a couple of\nfilms (the documentary The Rescue and the drama Thirteen Lives) detailing the\n2018 cave rescue of a young soccer team in Thailand. This is another narrative\ntelling of the story, but one in which some of the actual individuals involved\nin the real events play themselves. After the group of Thai children and their\ncoach are trapped deep in a flooding cave with water rushing in, Irish cave\ndiver Jim Warny and an international rescue team do all they can to save the\nindividuals before they drown. There haven\u2019t been a great deal of reviews for\nthis Thai production and the ones that have appeared online are mostly\nnegative. These notices stress that the screenplay tries to wedge in too many\ncharacters and events into a very brief running time. As such, they claim the\nfilm is choppy, noting that the other titles on the same subject are much\nstronger. Besides Jim Warny, it also features Erik Brown, Saman Gunan, Eoin\nO\u2019Brien and Mikko Paasi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n COSTA BRAVA, LEBANON \u2013 A family from Beirut attempts to\nescape civil unrest and their polluted hometown by going off the grid and\nbuilding their own home in the mountains. Things go remarkably well until the\ngovernment arrives and starts constructing a garbage landfill next door. With\neverything they wanted to give up suddenly on their doorstep again, tensions\narise as they try to figure out their next move. This Lebanese foreign-language\ndrama received praise at film festivals, as well as excellent reviews. There\nwere only a couple of bad write-ups critiquing the character development and\ncalling the final product cold. Everyone else found it to be a smart and\nengaging effort effectively dealing with how difficult it can be to achieve\nreal change. They also wrote that it managed to combine family drama with\npolitics in an interesting manner. Nadine Labaki, Saleh Bakri and Yumna Marwan\nheadline the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ELVIS \u2013 The life of legendary rock and roll singer Elvis Presley is chronicled in this biopic from director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby<\/em>). While this version does detail many important moments from his life, it focuses primarily on the singer\u2019s unusual relationship with manager Col. Tom Parker. In fact, the movie attempts to show how the performer was manipulated and controlled by his friend, which ultimately led to his downfall. The movie received more positive write-ups than negative ones. Roughly one quarter thought that the flamboyant visual style overshadowed the actual story, leaving the characters underdeveloped and adding a layer of phoniness to the proceedings. However, the majority were dazzled, describing the movie as an enjoyable spectacle about a larger-than-life musician. They also admired the lead performance, who they believed was a perfect embodiment of Elvis. It stars Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh and Olivia DeJonge. Read this reviewer’s take on the movie here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n THE FORGIVEN \u2013 A wealthy English couple head out to Morocco\nto attend the lavish birthday party of a friend. After getting lost, they\naccidentally hit and kill a teenager. Fearing the consequences, the pair\ncontinue to the event with the deceased and try to cover their tracks. But the\nnext day, the youngster\u2019s father arrives and demands the husband and wife\nreturn the body and help him bury his son. The couple agree, but begin to fear\nthe family member will seek revenge on them. The general consensus was positive\nfor this feature. One-third of write-ups did comment that the leads were\nunlikable and that the message was hammed home with the subtlety of a blunt\nobject. But overall, reviewers seemed to be impressed that the characters were\nselfish and nasty. They thought it created a sense of anxiety and\nunpredictability. Reviewers also thought that the cast was excellent. The cast\nincludes Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Ismael Kanater, Caleb\nLandry Jones and Abby Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HOLD YOUR FIRE \u2013 Back in 1973, four young African-Americans\nwere cornered by the NYPD for stealing guns they needed for the purpose of\nself-defense. In a state of panic, the thieves took hostages. At the time, the\npolicy of the police force was to deliver an ultimatum and then use deadly\nforce. This documentary tells the story of the visionary police psychologist\nwho attempted to convince his superiors to break with tradition and allow him\nto talk and negotiate with the men. Using never-before-seen film footage and\ninterviews with survivors, viewers get a fuller picture of what transpired and\nthe effects it had on law enforcement. Notices were excellent for the movie.\nOnly one or two panned the movie, saying it was overlong and that the story\ndidn\u2019t necessitate 93 minutes of screentime. Everyone else praised it as being\na layered, revealing and complicated look at issues within law\nenforcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KARMALINK \u2013 This independent co-production between the US\nand Cambodia is a science-fiction tale set in a futuristic Phnom Penh. In this\nworld, the rich are forcing the eviction of average citizens. One of those\ntargeted has a vision and becomes convinced he can save his community by\nfinding a unique Buddhist statue. He and his best friend seek out the artwork,\nbut find themselves being hunted in the process. Members of the press who saw\nthe movie were very impressed. A couple of them did criticize the work of the\ninexperienced actors as being weak and found the story jumbled and confusing.\nStill, the majority thought the movie was very original and full of exciting\nideas. They called it a stylish effort that would impress anyone looking for an\noriginal science-fiction film. Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak and Sahajak\nBoonthanakit headline the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LIGHTYEAR \u2013 The latest from Pixar and Disney is an animated spin-off of the Toy Story<\/em> series. It is actually a fictional movie that supposedly inspired the creation of the \u201cBuzz Lightyear” toy (featured in the above franchise). While traveling across the universe, Buzz Lightyear and his crew are stranded on an alien planet and lose their warp drive. After attempting to relaunch himself through space and losing time in the process, he returns to find that an enemy has taken control of the planet. The protagonist teams up with an inexperienced crew to try and stop the sinister force. Overall, critics were complementary about the movie. About one-quarter of reviewers didn\u2019t appreciate the darker and more serious tone of this entry, calling it dry and lacking in thrills. The rest liked the different approach. They stated that the movie was visually spectacular and soulful as it sensitively addressed themes of loss and regret. The voice cast includes Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin and Uzo Aduba. Click the link to read a full review of the movie.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n SNIPER: THE WHITE RAVEN \u2013 In recent weeks, several Ukrainian\nfilms dealing with the conflict between themselves and Russia have found\ndistribution. Set in Donbas during the 2014 invasion by Russia, this story\ninvolves a Ukrainian physics teacher who suffers a horrible personal tragedy.\nHe vows to fight back, joins the military and becomes a sniper for his home\ncountry. The lead then sets his sights on his enemy\u2019s best marksman, hoping to\nturn the tide and help his fighters reclaim their land. This foreign-language\neffort was well-received. One or two called the story predictable and\ncomplained that it focused more on the transformation of the lead character\nthan battle scenes. But the consensus was that the movie was an interesting,\nsuspenseful and relevant character study that helped explain the conflict and\nsuffering of the Ukrainian people. It features Aldoshyn Pavlo and Maryna\nKoshkina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TIN CAN \u2013 This horror\/science-fiction hybrid begins with a\nwoman awakening in a cold and dark metal chamber. Imprisoned, viewers learn\nthat the lead was a scientist nearing completion on a cure for a deadly plague.\nNow trapped, she attempts to figure out how and why she came to be placed in\nthe box\u2026 and perhaps most importantly, how to escape. Write-ups for this little\nindependent chiller from Canada were surprisingly strong. A small number\ncomplained that while starting well, the movie didn\u2019t tie up its loose ends and\nleft them frustrated. Everyone else thought the feature was incredibly\natmospheric and memorably grim. They were impressed with the cast and make-up\neffects as well, suggesting the title reminded them of early works by\ncountryman David Cronenberg (The Brood, Videodrome, The Fly<\/em>). It stars\nAnna Hopkins, Simon Mutabazi and Michael Ironside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE WATER OF LIFE: A WHISKEY FILM \u2013 If you enjoy a drink now\nand again, you might be interested in this crowdfunded documentary. It\u2019s about\nthe history and evolution of the famous beverage, which ultimately focuses on\nthe recent rise in popularity of single-malt whiskey. A film crew interviews\nvarious modern-day craftsmen, chemists and renegades who have helped develop\nthe drink and transformed the industry. They also travel to the island of\nIslay, Scotland, where some of the world\u2019s best whiskey is produced. There\naren\u2019t a lot of reviews available for this title yet and it appears to be\ndebuting on disc. However, a few have popped up online and that have been\nfavorable. The upbeat notices suggest that the film is full of charming and\ncharismatic characters who do a great deal to explain the history of whiskey\nand its development. One can also expect some good drinking recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING \u2013 Based on the bestselling novel by\nDelia Owens, this period drama\/mystery involves a young woman in North Carolina\nwho is abandoned by her family and decides to raise herself in the marshes\noutside of town. Despite isolating herself, she manages to find two suitors\nvying for her affection. So, when one of the men with ties to the reclusive\nlady is discovered dead, she becomes the prime suspect in his murder.\nUnfortunately, this effort wasn\u2019t very well received by the press. A small\nnumber described it as a well-shot, entertaining and slick adaptation of the\nnovel with solid performances. Alas, the majority stated the movie wasn\u2019t\nnearly as engrossing as the book, calling it overly glossy, corny and\nuninvolving. They also said that it failed to deal with the story\u2019s themes of\npoverty and abuse in a compelling manner. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith,\nHarris Dickinson, Garret Dillahunt, Michael Hyatt and David Strathairn headline\nthe movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WIRE ROOM \u2013 The latest direct-to-disc and streaming action\nfilm coming your way is this tale set in a Homeland Security command center. At\nthis site, agents listen in and monitor the country\u2019s most dangerous criminals.\nA new recruit is tasked with monitoring a cartel member and arms smuggler\nproviding the bureau with information. After sinister forces attack the\nsmuggler and the wire room itself, the lead decides to break protocol and contacts\nthe individual. The two must help each other survive the onslaught. So far,\ncritics have uniformly panned the movie. They all note that the action scenes\nare flat and unexciting and that there is nothing about the picture that will\nresonate with viewers after the credits roll. The cast includes Kevin Dillon,\nBruce Willis, Oliver Trevana and Texas Battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DVD-Bloom-Up-Swinger-Couple-Story-fixed.jpg\")
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