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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTHE ANIMAL KINGDOM \u2013 Combining elements of adventure,\nscience-fiction and drama, this co-production between France and Belgium is set\nin a world where some humans have begun to mutate and develop animal\ncharacteristics. A teenage boy begins showing signs that he may be affected and\nis told by his father that his mother, who has disappeared, also had this\ncondition. While authorities close in on these new and powerful individuals,\nthe leads try to find their missing relative. Reception has been generally positive\ntowards this foreign-language feature. A small group complained that it felt\nlike an X-Men<\/em> tale but without thrills, repeatedly delivering cliches\nand struggling to hold viewer interest. Still, most called the picture smart\nand intriguing. They also wrote that it was helped by the warm and\nwell-performed relationship between the father and son. Romain Duris and\nPaul Kircher headline the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BAG OF LIES \u2013 A husband whose wife has terminal cancer is\ndesperate to find her any cure. When he discovers an ancient relic said to have\ndark powers, he decides to see if it can save her. But there are three\nimportant rules to follow while using the item. Things initially look promising\nuntil one of the instructions is overlooked, leading to a ghastly series of\nconsequences that test the husband\u2019s sanity. This independent chiller debuted\non streaming sites a couple of months ago. It hasn\u2019t been seen by many critics\nso far, but a few mixed reviews have appeared online. Most suggest that the\nconcept is interesting, the performances reasonable and that it had some creepy\nmoments. At the same time, they stated that the film was overlong and the\npacing sluggish, lessening the suspense. It stars Patrick Taft, Brandi\nBotkin and John Wells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BIGFOOT EXORCIST \u2013 If you read these articles, you\u2019ll know\nthat they sometimes cover releases from Wild Eye Releasing. These titles are\ntypically ultra-low-budget (essentially homemade) independent genre efforts\nthat often cater to audiences wanting over-the-top monster movies with shoddy\nproduction values. This feature is from a filmmaker responsible for the Shark\nExorcist<\/em> series and follows a cult who summon a vicious sasquatch to do\ntheir bidding. When a man survives an attack by the creature, he starts\ntransforming into a bigfoot. The figure asks for help from a nun to release him\nfrom this curse. No one has seen this picture yet and it is arriving as a\nDVD-only release to shoppers. If you\u2019ve seen the series mentioned above, expect\nsomething similar set in the woods. The cast includes Jessa Flux, Crystal Quin\nand Ford Windstar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLIND WAR \u2013 A former SWAT captain is permanently blinded\nduring a failed mission and must retire from his job behind. When his teenage\ndaughter is kidnapped, he decides to go rogue and find the responsible party.\nOf course, the hero quickly discovers that this enemy is a group of human\ntraffickers who were the same target of the ill-fated raid. The protagonist\ndecides to use newly developed talents to take down those who changed his life\nforever. This foreign-language title from China was released in its homeland\nnear the end of the pandemic and has been available to stream on Hi-YAH! for\nsome time. It is now appearing on disc. There haven\u2019t been many notices for the\npicture. The few that are available call it exaggerated in the extreme. They\nnote that action scenes are amusing but that the dramatic moments are corny,\nmaking it difficult to take the story seriously. Andy On is listed as the lead\nin the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLOOD AND SNOW \u2013 A meteor crashes in the Arctic and is\ndiscovered by scientists. One is immediately killed, while the other wounded\nresearcher escapes to a nearby base. The group of individuals who find the ill\nfigure try to treat them. But soon after, everyone realizes that the person has\nbeen infected by an alien menace that wants to spread among the others. This\nlow-budget independent chiller appeared on streaming sites a few weeks ago and\nis now debuting on disc. Almost no major reviewers have seen it. Online critics\nwho specialize in this type of movie thought that the locations were\nimpressive, but called it a blatant and ineffective copy of John Carpenter\u2019s The\nThing<\/em>. Some even thought it could be sued for plagiarism. It features\nVernon Wells, Simon Phillips, Micheal Swatton and Anne-Carolyne Binette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BRING HER TO ME \u2013 Much like Wild Eye Releasing, Full Moon\nEntertainment also delivers direct-to-disc and streaming genre titles (albeit\nwith slightly higher budgets than their competitor). Their latest is from the\ndirector of The Gingerdead Man<\/em> and follows a woman suffering from\nintense nightmares. After falling asleep, she begins encountering a nasty\ndemon. The lead calls on the help of a dream interpreter and discovers that the\nsupernatural force is, well, amorous and interested in her physically. Again,\nfew critics have actually seen this picture. Those that have suggested that,\nfor a low-budget picture, it looks reasonably slick. However, they also note\nthe extremely short running time (under one hour), weak character development\nand abrupt ending. Apparently, it is available to watch for free on Tubi, so\nthose interested may want to check it out there first. Bec Doyle and Roslyn\nGentle headline the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DOGMAN \u2013 This crime\/drama from Luc Besson (Leon: The\nProfessional, The Fifth Element<\/em>) begins with a young man being arrested\nwhile driving a truck full of illegal drugs. He is interviewed by a\npsychiatrist and tells his life story. It involves incredible tragedy,\nincluding abuse from his father and a troubling stay in a juvenile institution.\nThe criminal also reveals his experiences training dogs to accompany him on\nseveral heists. The movie played at various festivals (it was nominated for\nawards at the Venice Film Festival) but divided the press, receiving a wide\nrange of ratings. Almost half called the picture ridiculous and stated that the\nstrange shifts in tone were so confusing that the entire feature baffled them.\nSlightly more wrote that the lead performance was exceptional and that the film\nwas so wild and unique that they couldn\u2019t help but get wrapped up in its\noddness. It stars Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs, Christopher Denham, Marisa\nBerenson, Clemens Schick and Grace Palma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ENTER THE DRAG DRAGON \u2013 Those who follow indie cult cinema\nand live in Canada may be familiar with Lee Demarbre, a filmmaker who has\nindependently produced B-movie genre mash-ups like the Harry Knuckles<\/em>\nseries and Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter<\/em> (among others). His latest\neffort involves an amateur detective and drag queen who is hired to find a lost\ndog. The trail leads the character on a strange journey that involves fending\noff underworld criminals, an Aztec mummy, zombies, anti-gay Christian\nvigilantes, and more. Once again, this little film hasn\u2019t gotten a lot of\nwrite-ups, but most were upbeat. Those reviews called it a combination of early\nJohn Waters pictures and a Lloyd Kaufman production. It also won awards at the\nHollywood Blood Horror Festival last year. Apparently, Sam Kellerman, Jade\nLondon and Matt Miwa all play the lead character at different points in the\nmovie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FINDING THE MONEY \u2013 The US national debt and the nature of\nmoney is the subject of this documentary. The filmmakers interview various\nprofessors of economics and other notable figures, including the former chief\neconomist to the American Senate Budget Committee. They do so to show exactly\nhow the system of government spending works, before breaking it down and\ncritiquing it. The movie proposes a new way of thinking about how and where\ncountries spend their money. Few members of the press managed to see the picture\nlast month when it received a limited release, but word on it was upbeat. Most\nfound the subject interesting and stated that while some of the arguments were\nnot entirely convincing to them, the film would definitely change how many felt\nabout modern economics and help all to conceive ways for the process to change\nand better serve citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE \u2013 The latest title in the\nnew series of US-produced \u201cMonsterverse\u201d team-ups involving Godzilla and King\nKong features the beasts and a few human characters who have appeared in\nprevious chapters. When multiple giant creatures rise from a land beneath the\nEarth to wreak havoc, the title monsters are forced to team up and help save\nthe world. This picture generally split the press, but did receive a few more\npositive notices than negative ones. Those who disliked the picture described\nit as complete and utter nonsense with poor character development. They became\ndisinterested in the action and felt that the movie paled in comparison to Godzilla\nMInus One<\/em> from Japan. The same number and a few more thought it delivered\nsilly fun and amusing in-jokes that would put a grin on the face of any giant\nmonster movie fan. This film is available in multiple editions, including a 4K\nUltra HD version, a Blu-ray only release, a Walmart exclusive Steelbook 4K\nUltra HD and Blu-ray combo and a Godzilla\/Kong Monsterverse 4K Ultra HD and\nBlu-ray pack with this and the previous four films in the series. It stars\nRebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle and Alex Ferns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HUNT HER, KILL HER \u2013 A young woman gets a night shift\nposition at a furniture factory. Each evening, she must lock the doors, clean\nup and keep guard of, presumably, the various ottomans, pantries and couches.\nOne night, a group of masked intruders enter the building and steal the keys.\nThey begin hunting the protagonist down, forcing her to fight back in order to\nescape their clutches. The 2023 release was put out as a DVD-only title one\nyear ago and is now debuting on Blu-ray. Reaction was split towards the\nindependent horror movie. Almost half found it to be repetitive and wrote that\nit needed to focus more on the actual characters than the attack scenes. Just\nas many, plus one or two, stated that the film was suspenseful and included\nplenty of tense and well-staged moments within its claustrophobic location.\nNatalie Terazzino plays the unfortunate worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IMMACULATE \u2013 After her parish closes, a young, devout\nAmerican nun takes a position in Italy at a remote convent. While caring for\nailing, elderly nuns, she begins meeting the various unusual personalities also\nat the abbey. Things get unsettling when the lead sees threatening figures\ndressed in red, and become even more perplexing when the celibate woman\ndiscovers that she is pregnant. Despite her protests, those who run the convent\ndecide to keep her locked up within the convent. Reaction to this horror picture\nwas more positive than negative. A number of write-ups complained that the\nstory was predictable and that it simply wasn\u2019t scary, resorting to shocks\ninstead of generating a sense of fear or unease. But the majority complimented\nthe picture as atmospheric and intense. They also thought it included excellent\nperformances and a memorable finale. It stars Sidney Sweeney, \u00c1lvaro Morte and\nSimona Tabasco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE LAST KUMITE \u2013 If you remember and\/or enjoy martial arts\nmovies from the 1980s like Bloodsport <\/em>and Kickboxer<\/em>, this title\nmay be for you. It is a low-budget picture inspired by those films that was\nlargely funded through Kickstarter. The plot involves a martial artist who wins\na competition, finding himself a noted fight promoter in the process.\nUnfortunately, he discovers too late that his new boss is also a human\ntrafficker. His daughter is suddenly kidnapped and he is forced to compete in a\nbrutal underground tournament. There haven\u2019t been a great deal of reviews yet\nfor this picture. The ones that have popped up online state that the pacing is\na bit sluggish, but that it is a good recreation of late 80s pictures of the\nera (right down to the score) and includes a few amusing cameos. It is\navailable in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack or as a standalone Blu-ray.\nThe cast includes Mathis Landwehr, Kurt McKinney, Cynthia Rothrock and Billy\nBlanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n REMEMBERING GENE WILDER \u2013 The life and career of late\nHollywood actor Gene Wilder is chronicled in this documentary. After his mother\nsuffered a stroke at a young age and he was advised by a nurse to keep her\nspirits up by making her laugh, Wilder found that he enjoyed performing and\ndecided to pursue a career onscreen. Those whom he worked with share their\nmemories of him, describing the figure as a serious actor with impeccable comic\ntiming. There is also exploration of tragedy within his life, as well as many\npositive experiences. The picture was well-received. A small number commented\nthat this was a surface level examination of the man and his career, lacking\ndeep insight. Regardless, the consensus was that the movie delivered a touching\ntribute to a figure and his incredible work in films like The Producers,\nWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein,\nSilver Streak<\/em> and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STAY CALM \u2013 Known as Stai Sereno<\/em> in its homeland,this\nEnglish-language Italian crime\/comedy is about a government official who is\nunpopular with the public. Fearing that he will lose the next election, he\ndecides to work on some extreme ideas for his upcoming campaign in order to win\nover the public. This includes hiring an influencer to stage a highly\npublicized scandal as well as a home invasion. Alas, things start going wrong\nin every possible way. This is currently a DVD-only release. Very little is\nknown about this picture outside of Italy, other than the fact that some\nsources call it a passion project of the star. There haven\u2019t been any reviews\nof the movie yet, so interested parties will have to walk in with no prior\nknowledge as to its quality. Billy Zane, Corrado Fortuna, Francesco Meoni and\nSamantha Michela Capitoni headline the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STOPMOTION \u2013 A gifted young woman who works as a stop-motion\nanimator spends her days and nights creating horrific visions for an\nindependent project. A curious but odd girl visits her apartment and makes\ncreative suggestions to the protagonist. Most involve a nightmarish figure\ncalled \u201cThe Ashman\u201d who torments his prey. The animator begins seeing this\nmonster in the hallways, and witnesses her own creations coming to life. She\nbecomes more and more unhinged in the process. The press was quite taken by this\nUK production. A very small number complained that the lead struggling with\ntheir sanity conceit was overused and the end result ineffective. Everyone else\nthought it was extraordinarily creepy. They complimented the great performances\nand chilling visuals using stop-motion characters within a real-world story in\nnew and unique ways. It features Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet, Tom York and\nTherica Wilson-Read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TONI \u2013 This picture begins 20 years in the past, with a\n20-something singer on the verge of pop stardom. Sadly, her career quickly\nfalters and she instead becomes a single mother, only occasionally singing in\nbars. After raising several children who are now heading off to college, it\nbecomes clear that her old life as a parent is coming to an end. She debates\nwhether or not she should try returning to university and starting a new\ncareer, but doesn\u2019t receive much encouragement from those around. This French\ncomedy\/drama hasn\u2019t been seen by many reviewers outside of its home country.\nSome online notices based in Europe are generally positive about this\nforeign-language feature. Most suggested that it is a sweet and likable little\neffort bolstered by its charismatic lead and believable depiction of a 40-ish\nwoman at a personal crossroads. For the time being, this is a DVD-only release.\nIt stars Camille Cottin, L\u00e9a Lopez and Thomas Gioria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s another solid week for upgrades of older titles. Mute\nWitness<\/em> (1995) is a fantastic little thriller that follows a mute special\neffects make-up artist working on a slasher film in Moscow. When she\naccidentally gets locked into the studio at the end of the day, she comes\nacross two individuals shooting a snuff film for a criminal organization. The\nlead is pursued through the rickety studio as she attempts to escape with her\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/DVD-Bag-of-Lies-fixed.jpg\")
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