Twinless (2025, Lionsgate, Blu-ray, R, 100 min.). This film stars one of my favorite actors, Dylan O’Brien of TV’s “Teen Wolf” and the three “Maze Runner” films, as well as “Love and Monsters.” Here, in a film written and directed by James Sweeney (“Straight Up,” “Before Midnight Cowboy”), O’Brien plays Roman, a man devastated by the sudden death of his twin, Rocky (also O’Brien in flashbacks), although they had not been as close as they used to be.

O’Brien digs deep and shows wonderful range, playing both brothers. He is withdrawn and tormented as the well-built Roman, but in the flashback as Rocky, he is flirty, charismatic and comfortable as an openly gay man.

Trying to adapt to his new loneliness, Roman starts attending a support group for those who have lost a twin. There, he meets and rather quickly befriends Dennis (writer-director James Sweeney), who has lost his twin Dean. Their friendship starts over sandwiches after a group meeting. Dennis is the opposite of Roman in many ways as he often thinks out loud, seems more desperate for their friendship and is openly gay. Dennis also is shorter, thin and adds tension by creating awkward moments, when he hesitates saying what is on his mind.

Other tension is created when Roman meets Dennis’ coworker Marcie (Aisling Franciosi of “Speak No Evil,” “The Nightingale”) at a Halloween party. In a wonderful touch, director Sweeney uses a split screen to show Roman and Marcie moving through the party and getting to know each other on the left, while Dennis is watching them on the right side. The problem that develops is Marcie knows things about Dennis that are different from what he has told Roman, and then the film mushrooms into something else, something more profound that touches on the soul.

One of O’Brien’s best scenes is when he is talking to Dennis as if Dennis were Rocky, letting his past frustration and anger pour forth, as he laments wasted opportunities to be with Rocky. In another scene, a distraught Dennis walks down the street past seven pairs of twins. Grade: film 3.5 stars

Rating guide: 5 stars = classic; 4 stars = excellent; 3 stars = good; 2 stars = fair; dog = skip it

Purchase link for some titles: https://moviezyng.com?bg_ref=ApLKdWV51k

Traces (2021, Vantage Media, Blu-ray, TV 14, 90 min.). The basic plot is familiar – think “Begin Again” or “Music and Lyrics” – but here it is well-acted and the music is pretty good.

Pablo Schreiber (“Den of Thieves,” TV’s “Orange is the New Black”) plays Damien Shea, a listless former 1990s “one hit wonder” – “Traces” was his song and album title. He is given a unique second chance when he agrees to produce a remake of the submitted debut album of an up-and-coming Internet sensation Sierra Jones (Sosie Bacon of TV’s “13 Reasons Why”). Damien is facing unemployment from his record store job, divorce and his 20-year high school reunion.

In a nice secondary role, Carl, the owner of Timewarp Records, is played by musician Rick Springfield (TV’s “General Hospital,” “Californication”), who gets to perform an instrumental with a band that includes musician Keb’ Mo’ (TV’s “Touched by an Angel”) as guitarist Ransom Weathers.

Sierra already has recorded and produced her debut album herself, but suddenly learns the record label is only going to release an album by one of its three female solo artists and she is Zia (Kelsey Lamb of “A Very Country Christmas”) because of its better chances of yielding a hit.

During a showcase performance for Zia, Sierra, who begged to open, ends her performances with a cover of “Traces,” impressing Damien, who just happens to be in the club. He introduces himself to Sierra and she asks Damien to listen to her album, which they do in her car. Afterwards, Damien says the album is good, but “didn’t click (with him) emotionally.”

The next day, Sierra shows up at Timewarp Records and begs Damien to improve the album by producing a new version. When he finally agrees, Carl offers them a room at his recording studio to use and the services of his son-in-law Jeremy (Jeremy Tardy of “Voodoo Macbeth,” “War Dogs”) as engineer, as it has been 16 years since Damien produced his album and the mixing board is much more complex.

Sierra, at first, resists some of Damien’s modifications, when he says, “The songs are in there. They are just buried in perfection.” Obviously, she is finally won over and, interestingly, she shows up at his high school reunion. Grade: film 3 stars

Busted Water Pipes (China, 2026, BayView Entertainment, NR, 103 min.). This weirdly-refreshing police comedy has some nice moments in its buildup to an over-the-top action finale that made me think of “The Goonies,” as it also has a hidden pirate ship.

The film opens with a SWAT team trying to defuse a hostage situation in Kingstown – the former SWAT leader has taken two people hostage. However, the current SWAT team, led by Yu Dahai (Eddie Peng of “The Great Wall,” “Black Dog,” TV’s “The Night Manager”), is sent to the wrong address. The hostage taker, who is across the street, then blows up himself, killing three and wounding 19 bystanders.

Dahai’s supervisor, who is planning on running for the Senate, transfers him to the Hoping Police Dept. It is a rural town with lots of group fighting, including by children, and prostitution, as well as a mean stray bull that takes a liking to a younger officer, who dressed as a bull to help capture the animal.

Dahai, who had all perfect scores during training, soon cleans up the fighting and prostitution, such that seven years pass with no crime. That becomes a problem because Dahai’s former supervisor, now a senator, wants to close down police stations where there is no reported crime, including the one in Hoping.

With Hoping Chief Ge off to Kingstown for a presumed promotion, the Hoping policemen decided to create a crime so their department can stay open. Throwing Molotov cocktails, they set afire an abandoned factory, not knowing that treasure-hunting thugs had set up inside, including storing dozens of pounds of TNT.

The treasure hunters are relatives of town guru Siji Luo (Ai Lun of “Vanguard”) and they are after the tomb of pirate Lady Chan and her lost fortune. Unfortunately, the Hoping police station was built over the tomb. When there is a burst water main at the station, the thieves decide to pretend to be plumbers. By then, though, the real cops have learned of the pirate’s tomb – by recovering the bad guys’ map and underground detector, after the bull has torn up most of the downtown -- and are digging their way towards it from a location outside of the station.

The film is a cross between a heist thriller and a broad slapstick ensemble comedy, with numerous mistaken identities. Siji is forced to work with his crook relatives by a collar fitted with a bomb. The senator also sends in a private enforcement group, which further complicates things.

Director Zhou Difei, in his feature debut, is at his best early on, before things get too complicated with too many protagonists. Still, the water stunts are effective and funny, as is the rampaging bull and its love for the young policeman. Grade: film 3.25 stars

The Thieves (South Korea, 2012, Well Go USA, Blu-ray, NR, 135 min.). In this overly complicated heist film – it recalls the “Ocean’s Eleven” films – Popie (Lee Jung-jae of “New World,” TV’s “Squid Game”) and his group of thieves go to Macau on a job. The mastermind behind the job is none other than Popie's old partner Macau Park (Kim Yoon-seok of “The Chaser”), who vanished with 68kg of gold several years ago on their last job together. Macau Park has brought several Chinese thieves with him as they will attempt to steal a $30 million diamond known as “Tear of the Sun,” which is being kept in a casino hotel. To put it mildly, the two groups do not get along easily.

Director Dong-hoo Choi (“The Big Swindle”) co-wrote the sometimes overly complex script with Gi-cheol Lee.

As always with these types of films, where they excel is in the actual crimes, with the opening, pre-Macau one being a good example. It has a woman jumping off a roof to swing on a rope to gain entrance to a secure storage facility. As part of the thieves, Chewingum (Kim Hae-sook of “The Handmaiden”), a master of disguise, pretends to be the hard-drinking mother of a younger woman (Jun Ji-hyun of “My Sassy Girl,” TV’s “My Love from Another Star” as Yenticall), now supposedly engaged to the rich guy mark. The women are both a distraction and a means of setting up the theft. The rest of Popie’s crew is safecracker Pepsee (Kim Hye-su of TV’s “The Queen of Office”) and strategist Zampano (Kim Soo-hyun of TV’s “My Love from Another Star,” “Dream High”).

Macau Park is surprised to learn Popsie has brought Pepsee, his old flame, who is out to settle the old score.

Things naturally slow down during the planning stage and various characters have side intentions as well. There also is a flashback to the job four years ago.

Things do not go well during the diamond heist. There is an engaging three-car accident, as two are killed and another three are taken by the police. Those who remain of Popsie’s crew follow Macau Park, who again has disappeared with the looted item, to Busan, South Korea. Independently, so do the police, who ultimately send in a SWAT team, which basically leads to warfare in an apartment building. In addition to that explosive action, there is a two-on-one shooting chase executed while swinging on the outside of a building, yet another highlight scene in the film’s very violent conclusion.

Brief extras include a making-of look (5:51) and a meet the thieves look (4:33). Grade: film 3.25 stars; extras 1 star

Loner (U.K., 2025, Burning Bulb Publishing, NR, 100 min.). In the film, Charlie Robb (TV’s “Sans Comic”) plays aspiring vlogger Angus Mattock, who goes into the wilderness to stay at an Anonymous Retreats cabin. While technically it is a digital detox, he nonetheless records future podcasts. Robb, by the way, is the film’s writer and a co-director with Douglas Tawn (writer of “Sans Comic”).

Angus, who will turn 30 on day six, is a bit of a bungler, but he puts up several cameras around the cabin and inside, as well as one he takes with him. He even has a camera on a drone. He tries “cowboy coffee” – in includes beans – and gets his leg trapped while trying to build a shelter.

On the third night, he hears someone sobbing, followed later by a banging on the cabin and a woman seeking help. Angus refuses to help her, she being Eve (Kat Johns-Burke). The next day, Angus starts losing his cool and then his axe. When he returns to the cabin, he finds his food and other items stolen – most likely by Eve – and the power and water shut off.

On day five, he tries to leave but cannot find his car, which was parked a mile or two away. At this point, which includes search of a cave, there is a lot more found-footage style camera work.

Overall, the film is too slow, with not much really happening. Plus, it has a really weird ending.

The sole extra is audio commentary by the two directors. Grade: film and extra 2 stars

Africa Screams (1949, Leomark, Blu-ray, NR, 78 min.). This Abbott & Costello comedy has the duo playing New York City booksellers Buzz Johnson (Bud Abbott) and Stanley Livington (Lou Costello). On the same day, Stanley is approached by two men looking for a book containing a map of Africa, Buzz is approached by a woman looking for the same map. The men offer Stanley money if he can draw the map from memory, while the woman offers a higher amount to Buzz.

The men are Boots Wilson (Buddy Baer of “Quo Vadis,” “Jack and the Beanstalk”) and Grappler McCoy (Max Baer of “The Harder They Fall,” “The Prizefighter and the Lady”). They both are employed as muscle by the woman, Diana Emerson (Hillary Brooke of “Lost Continent,” “Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd”). While she pretends the map leads to a giant ape – which it actually does – she knows it leads to a stash of diamonds in the Congo.

Buzz delays Stanley drawing the map, so he can up the price and get them both a spot on the safari. While doing that, Buzz pretends to be a better lion hunter and tamer than Clyde Beatty and later a better shot than Frank Buck, both times to the real-life Beatty and Buck, who both play themselves.

Amusing bits have Stanley get his finger stuck in a water faucet, so he has to remove the faucet end from the pipe, yet somehow manages to transfer it to the finger of Diana’s home servant; Stanley’s encounter with a real lion; and the help they get from the giant ape. There is a lot of silly running around in the jungle, but the film has a cute ending. Grade: film 3 stars

George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey (1984, Warner Bros., 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, NR, 112 min.). This biography of the Academy Award winning director was written, directed and narrated by his son, George Stevens Jr. It includes rare dramatic color footage of World War II, starting with the D Day invasion.

The documentary is helped immensely by interviews with those who appeared in his father’s films, including Katharine Hepburn, who talks about “Alice Adams” and its funny dinner scene and about “Woman of the Year” and its breakfast scene. Both Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire talk about Stevens’ involvement in several of their films. (He also worked with Laurel and Hardy a lot.) Joel McCrae talks about “The More the Merrier,” and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Cary Grant talk about “Gunga Din.” There are clips from all these movies, and others.

There are four lengthy scenes from both “A Place in the Sun” and “Shane,” with Warren Beatty talking about the influential gunshot sounds used in the latter. Additionally, there are two scenes from “Giant” and three scenes from “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”

The new 4K restoration by The Film Foundation breathes new life into every frame. The extras are a trio of recent segments from the 2023 and 2026 Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ “George Stevens Lectures,” featuring directors Christopher Nolan (20:19), Guillermo Del Toro (24:14) and Martin Scorsese (4:50) honoring Stevens in their own words. Grade: film 4 stars; extras 2 stars

I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Complete Series (2021, Sony Pictures, 3 Blu-rays, NR, 374 min.). The series, which lasted only one season with eight episodes, is based on the same concept as the two films which preceded it: “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) and “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” (1998). (Yet I new version was filmed last year.) It features locations in Hawaii.

It is billed as: “In a town full of secrets, a group of teenagers are stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident on their graduation night.” The series has a couple of fundamental problems. First, none of the six main characters are likable, as most are shallow, self-absorbed and often morally gross. Second, I do not buy that none of the five friends in the car when the fatal accident happened, would realize the driving twin had assumed the identity of her dead twin during the graduation party (attended by both adults and students). The twins’ father (Bill Heck of TV’s “Locke & Key” as Bruce Grant) certainly notices right away, yet decides to keep the secret.

Madison Iseman (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Jumanji: The Next Level,” “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween”) plays the twins, Lennon and Allison Grant, with Lennon rather bitchy and Allison more a wallflower. The others in the car were Margot (Brianne Tju of “Uglies”), Dylan (Zeke Goodman of TV’s “Cruel Intentions”), Riley (Ashley Moore of “Salvation”) and Johnny (Sebastian Amoruso). Margot likes to kiss girls and Johnny now is dating the male tennis coach, probably making him an early casualty.

The summer after, they are stalked by a brutal killer. As they try to piece together who is after them, they reveal the dark side of their seemingly perfect town and themselves. Everyone is hiding something and/or sleeping with someone, so uncovering the wrong secret could be deadly. Grade: series 2.25 stars