February 10, 2016 “Whitney” (** out of four) was a choppy, superficial made-for-television biography of Whitney Houston (Yaya Dacosta) who rose to international stardom but whose life and career crumbled into drug abuse and her turbulent marriage to Bobby Brown (Arlen Escarpeta). Directorial debut of Angela Bassett who starred as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” which was a musical biography done with much more grit and passion. Good performances and musical scenes make this watchable but Whitney’s life and career deserves a longer, more complex movie framework. Incidentally, Deborah Cox performs all of Houston’s vocals and does a particularly strong job with “I Will Always Love You.” Continue reading →
February 9, 2016 “Fifty Shades Of Black” (**1/2 out of four) was an occasionally funny parody of (no kidding) “Fifty Shades Of Grey” starring Marlon Wayans in the role of a wealthy sexual businessman and Kali Hawk as an inexperienced college student who becomes his partner in crime. A little of this goes a long way but it has several laughs and is far more entertaining than either “Fifty Shades Of Grey” or the Wayans’ last several “Scary Movie” entries. Both Wayans and Hawk are awesome in the leads. Continue reading →
February 8, 2016 “Synchronicity” (** out of four) was a hazy, remote futuristic thriller about a physicist (Chad McKnight) who invents a time travel machine but then must travel back to the past to uncover the real truth about its creation when his greedy financial provider (Michael Ironside) and a woman he sleeps with (Brianne Davis) try to steal it. Director Jacob Gentry shows strong mood and style and some promise but after a strong start, the script leads nowhere and goes flat. Eerie and cool music score by Ben Lovett is a real plus. Yet another futuristic thriller obviously inspired by “Blade Runner” but unfortunately may remind hard-core sci/fi fans of 1999’s “The Thirteenth Floor.” Continue reading →
February 8, 2016 “Fight To The Finish” (**1/2 out of four) was a serviceable “Rocky” wannabe about an amateur MMA fighter (Shane Warren Jones) who becomes embroiled in a violent fight with an abusive boyfriend (Caleb Smith) of his local neighbor and both of them later decide to compete against one another in the ring. Predictable movie is given a solid boost by Jones’ sincere and impassioned performance and exciting climax. No “Creed” (or even “Warrior”) but still worth watching to the finish. Continue reading →
February 8, 2016 “The Veil” (** out of four) was a creepy but corny horror thriller about the lone survivor (Lily Rabe) of a mass religious suicide who returns to the site of its tragedy with a documentary filmmaker (Jessica Alba) and her film crew but the spirit of the evil religious leader (Thomas Jane) still inhabits the site and naturally havoc ensues. Director Phil Joanou once again shows his flair for atmosphere but also once again shows little in the way of thrills or sparks and the story eventually gets lost in mumbo-jumbo. Jane is terrific however in an unusual villain role. Continue reading →
February 7, 2016 “The History Of The Eagles” (***1/2 out of four) was an exceptional, expansive documentary of The Eagles featuring interviews, archive footage, and plenty of concerts showing their formation in the early 70’s, their phenomenal success, their bitter breakup, and eventual reformation. This is simply a feast for fans of The Eagles and classic rock. Long at three hours but not overlong and very well-researched and put together. Continue reading →
February 7, 2016 “Mojave” (0 stars out of four) was a mind-numbingly awful melodrama about a depressed artist (Garrett Hedlund) who journeys to the Mojave desert where he meets a homicidal drifter (Oscar Isaacs) and things start to get ugly after he thinks he kills him. Or something like that. Almost completely incomprehensible at times and unbearable. If you must watch, see if you can make any sense out of Mark Wahlberg’s token supporting role as a spoiled actor. Amazingly, this was directed by William Monahan who in better days was the Oscar-winning scriptwriter for “The Departed” but based on this mess, his talent seems to have departed. Continue reading →
February 7, 2016 “Eaters” (** out of four) was an umpteenth Redbox rip-off of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Deliverance” about 5 young travelers who encounter a violent biker gang when one of their friends goes missing in a middle-of-nowhere redneck town and all of them become mauled by cannibalistic freaks. As a low-budget horror thriller, this isn’t bad and has good production values and vibrant photography but you’ve seen it all before and it needs a shot of adrenaline. Watch 2003’s “Wrong Turn” for a much scarier and exciting version of virtually the same story. Continue reading →
February 7, 2016 “Hail, Caesar” (** out of four) was a disappointing comedy set in ’50’s Hollywood starring Josh Brolin as Eddie Mannix who was a studio fixer and had his hands full keeping his many actors (George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johannson, among others) in line. The Coen Brothers’ homage to the Golden Era of Hollywood has some interesting behind-the-scenes wheelings and dealings but few laughs. Brolin’s terrific performance almost makes this worth watching for a few minutes but almost all of the rest of the cast is wasted. Continue reading →
February 7, 2016 “Misconduct” (*1/2 out of four) was a ludicrous botch of a thriller about an ambitious young attorney (Josh Duhamel) who pursues a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against a ruthless pharmaceutical tycoon (Anthony Hopkins) whose partner (Malin Ackerman) happens to be an old flame who is suddenly kidnapped. Passable beginning quickly deteriorates as film becomes illogical and confusing. The real misconduct is the waste of a great cast, including Al Pacino and Julia Stiles. Pacino should swear off trying a Southern accent again for perhaps the rest of his life. Continue reading →
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