7500 (2020)
7500 (On Disc/Streaming June 19, 2020, Amazon)
Oscar-nominated for his 2015 short “Everything Will Be Okay,” writer-director Patrick Vollrath takes on his first feature film. When Islamic hijackers storm the cockpit of his outbound Berlin flight, co-pilot Tobias (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) shuts the assailants out after they critically injure his pilot. Taking orders from ground-based authorities, Tobias can only hang tough and pray as the terrorists attempt to breakdown his door, or to break Tobias, using hapless hostages. Originally slated for theatrical release, the film's nail-biting action eventually gives way to a series of convenient, melodramatic plot devices.
I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (Streaming June 19, 2020, FandangoNow & VUDU)
Here comes another WWE wrestler turned actor as Stu Bennett plays ex-special forces soldier John Gold. In exchange for immunity from all pending charges against him, Gold agrees to safely transport Sean Teague (Vinnie Jones) to a military prison. Since Teague double-crossed Gold’s team in Eastern Europe, he'd rather see Teague dead. Teague feels likewise as the prisoner's band of mercenaries follow Bennett in hot pursuit. Everyone takes and gives their share of poundings, going round after punishing round, in this story that has an oh-so familiar ring.
Mr. Jones (Streaming June 19, 2020, FandangoNow)
On the eve of World War II in Europe, young Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton) investigates the possibility of a man-made famine in the Soviet Ukraine. Jones travels to Moscow, in search of the truth, and learns of a much larger, international conspiracy. The opportunity to scoop the story pits Jones against Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times writer Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard). A riveting tale that suffers from bloat caused by screenwriter Andrea Chalupa’s refusal to let go and move on long after the point is made.
You Should Have Left (Streaming June 18, 2020, Amazon, Apple TV, VUDU, Google Play, FandangoNow and more)
Adapted from a novel by German-Austrian author Daniel Kehlmann, this story is credited with seamlessly blending various realities into a mind-bending narrative. Kevin Bacon portrays Theo Conroy, a screenwriter intent upon penning a sequel to his most successful work. With his marriage on the rocks, Conroy brings his young wife Susanna (Amanda Seyfried), and their 6-year-old daughter (Avery Essex) to an isolated, architecturally minimalist home in Wales. Soon, Conroy and his daughter experience inexplicable things. Then Conroy discovers ominous entries in his diary. Part horror, part science fiction, this one echoes and builds upon themes from The Shining.
