“Fluxx” (** out of four) was an overdone and overly cerebral melodrama about an isolated actress (Shelley Henning) in her Hollywood Hills mansion who begins to emotionally unravel and reflects back on her past memories with a celebrated talk-show host (Tyrese Gibson killing time between “Fast And Furious” entries) and others in her life (Shiloh Fernandez, Tanner Beard, and others) as means to regain her grip on reality and sanity. Opens with a sensational and stylish opening credits and has some interesting themes but goes so far afield into excess and mundane unpleasantness and never gets back on track. Gibson is solid as usual but based on this effort his career seems to be in “flux.”

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“Weekend Getaway” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired suspense psychodrama about three happily married couples (Ashley Dennis, April Melody Rox Doillard, Dee Hill, and others) who go to a cabin in the woods for a weekend and dangerous secrets are revealed that force them to question their relationships and stability. Pretty photography by Conrad Craven is eye-catching but otherwise this is pretty much of a bore. Hill, Dennis, and Dillard are all knockouts but this mostly feels like reheated Tyler Perry.

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“Play Dead” (** out of four) was a flamboyant but overly flimsy horror psychodrama about a young woman (Paula Brasca) who awakens injured in a basement surrounded by corpses; in order to survive, she pretends to be dead while grotesque rituals are ongoing around her involving others (Damian Castillo, Catalina Motto, and others) in the house. Directed with some style and flair by director Carlos Goitia and cinematographer Luciano Montes de Oca but becomes undeniably monotonous and unpleasant after a while because of lack of variation and story. Obviously influenced to some extent by “Cabin Fever” and also “Hostel”.

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“The Travellers” (**1/2 out of four) was an agreeably done comedy about a stage designer (Luke Bracey) who returns to his native Australia to say goodbye to his dying mother (Susan Porter) but this trip soon devolves into chaos as he encounters his difficult father (Bryan Brown) and past lovers (Celia Massingham and Alison McGirr) as he struggles to keep himself together and coordinate his life. Pleasant outing from writer/director Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”) with a well-served cast although it stops just short of hitting the mark. Brown adds some suavity and style as usual with his effortless (and ageless) charisma.

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“Home Education” (* out of four) was a languid psychodrama set in the England countryside about a young girl (Lydia Page) who starts to question the beliefs of her domineering and overbearing mother (Julia Ormond) as she ventures out on her own for the first time and encounters the horrors of real life. Both inept and inert; film is incredibly stuffy and blah but has no real story to tell. A particularly egregious waste of Ormond who in better days starred in “First Knight” a film with actual tension and verve.

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“The Dummy Detective” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismal comedy made by and for dummies about a detective (Jonathan Geffner) who also happens to be a ventriloquist and arrives at a cheap hotel inn and investigates a serial killer and finds the killings may be traced back to the hotel owner (Sean Young) or some of its patrons (Deborah Twiss, Ed Altman, Kristin Samuelson, and others). Star/writer/co-producer Geffner unfortunately bears most of the blame for this almost painfully unfunny film which shamelessly rips off the similarly titled “The Cheap Detective” and also “Clue”. Juri Beythien’s crisp 50’s-like cinematography is one of film’s few assets.

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“Jimmy And Stiggs” (** out of four) was mindless but entertaining stoner comedy about an out-of-work struggling filmmaker (Joe Begos) who spends his days smoking mountains of weed and then in a hallucination thinks he is abducted by aliens and fears for their return and contacts his friend Stiggs (Matt Mercer) in preparing for all-out war! Opening pseudo-coming attractions in the vein of “Grindhouse” are hilarious; the rest is perfectly watchable fluff but at least it never stops moving and is directed with some flavor and flair. Writer/director Begos shot this entire film in his home over the course of 4 years beginning during the COVID lockdown!

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“The Verdict” (** out of four) was a slick but obvious, empty suspense potboiler about an alcoholic defense attorney (Joshua L. Eady) tasked to defend a woman (Brittany Altenbach) accused of murdering her husband’s mistress but soon finds evidence that prove she might actually be guilty putting him at a dangerous moral/personal/career crossroads. Intriguing material is stalled by pedestrian screenplay and execution and misses the mark. Not a remake of the classic 1982 Paul Newman/Sidney Lumet thriller of the same name, despite very similar storylines.

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“Intrusive” (*1/2 out of four) was a seemingly endless suspense psychodrama about a successful auto mechanic (Alah Adams) who has an affair with the best friend (Nadia Adelay) of his wife (Allyson Adams) who turns out to be a deranged nutjob who does not take rejection well and then seeks to turn both of their lives upside down. Suspenseless story with a dire lack of thrills, scares, or even erotic charge and goes on far too long. How many times can filmmakers re-tell the same story over and over again?

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“Snapped” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty awful suspense melodrama about a businessman (Syncere Ellis) whose well-insulated life and relationship with his wife (Gayla Williams) is overturned by a new co-worker (Demarvious Rorie) with whom he has a steamy affair. Virtually a remake of 2009’s “Obsessed” which in itself was a remake (i.e. rip-off) of “Fatal Attraction” but both those films at least had good actors and filmmakers behind them. Film’s only real “snap” comes from Rorie but it’s otherwise pretty brutal.

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