Serious topic handled with too much flash

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Running Time: 142 minutes

This feature will be available for streaming via Apple TV+ on March 12.

Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Nico Walker, Cherry is a drama that tackles the massive opioid-addiction problem plaguing the U.S. The movie boasts some major talent behind the camera with directors Anthony and Joe Russo, most famous for their work on Marvel features like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The filmmakers and cast certainly do their best to provide plenty of searing drama, but the end result feels far too slick and polished, also...

By Glenn Kay

For the Sun

Welcome back to another look at new releases arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There are a lot genre flicks coming your way, as well as one big Academy Award contender. So, since you can’t, or likely shouldn’t be going out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!

BIG NEW RELEASES!

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CASTLE FREAK: Horror fans might remember the original 1995 cult flick Castle Freak, which was written and directed by late, great genre film veteran Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Fortress, Stuck). This remake was actually produced by the co-star of the original film. It is set in Albania and follows a blind woman who inherits a...

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Running Time: 129 minutes

This feature from STXfilms is currently available On Demand everywhere.

Based on a true story, the new drama The Mauritanian involves an African man who was arrested in his hometown, passed to United States officials and detained in Guantanamo Bay for more than 14 years. All of this occurred without a criminal charge ever being levied against him. Admittedly, some of this earnest drama’s courtroom procedurals don’t offer new or dynamic cinematic storytelling techniques. However, the numerous hardships this person was forced to endure without justification make this a tale worth telling.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim)...

Visit Kumandra in ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’

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Running Time: 108 minutes

This feature debuts March 5 at open cinemas and on Disney+ with Premier Access.

The two most recent features from Walt Disney Animation Studios were the sequels Frozen II and Ralph Breaks the Internet. It’s nice to see that their latest production, Raya and the Last Dragon, is an original and not another follow-up. It’s a beautifully animated fable that will most certainly entertain kids. Still, despite the fact that it is well-produced and isn’t a direct by-product of an earlier production, adult viewers may feel slightly less enamored with the predictable story.

This...