May 31, 2016 “The Antwerp Dolls” (** out of four) was a dour crime melodrama about a ruthless and cold-blooded businessman (Bruce Payne) whose attempted double-dealings with the Belgian mafia are intercepted by his former protégées who are out for blood-thirsty revenge. Not the worst of its kind but could have used more of a sense of humor and not to mention characters you actually care about and root for. Yet another Scorcese/Guy Ritchie/Paul Greengrass wannabe that comes up empty. Continue reading →
May 31, 2016 “Broken Promise” (*1/2 out of four) was a ludicrous thriller about a high-school girlfriend and boyfriend who break into a mansion and the owner is accidentally killed. Twenty-two years later, the boyfriend (Louis Mandylor) tracks the girl (Ashley Scott) down upon being released from prison and is determined to resume their relationship or enact revenge. Often laughably dumb and illogical, and not helped by a terrible performance from Mandylor. Easy to see why this bypassed theaters and premiered on Lifetime instead. Continue reading →
May 31, 2016 “Hooligan Legacy” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring crime drama set in England which owes a lot to the stylings of Guy Ritchie and Martin Scorsese but unfortunately won’t develop much of a legacy of its own. Four criminals attempt to execute a daring heist of a football stadium but the plans go awry which leads to the leader being imprisoned and planning revenge. Sounds juicy but is unpleasant, talky, and feels overlong even at only 73 minutes. Continue reading →
May 30, 2016 “Alice Through The Looking Glass” (*** out of four) was a sumptuous sequel to the 2010 blockbuster about Alice (Mia Wasikowska) having to return to Wonderland and travel back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and do battle with the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). A visual feast of magnificent effects and spectacular sets and costumes. Wasikowska’s strong lead performance and solid supporting work from Carter, Anne Hathaway, and Sacha BAron Cohen make this a surprising improvement over its wooden predecessor. Original director Tim Burton handed over the directing reins to James Bobin who actually does a sturdier job than Burton. Final film of legendary character actor Alan Rickman. Continue reading →
May 30, 2016 “All The Way” (** out of four) was a tiresome, superficial look at Lyndon Johnson (Bryan Cranston) who became the 36th President of The United States in the chaotic aftermath of JFK’s assassination and film focuses on his attempts to pass the Civil Rights Act with the support of Martin Luther King (Anthony Mackie) and the opposition of many including Governor George Wallace (Frank Langella). Worth watching for a little while for Cranston’s absolutely terrific performance as Johnson and Mackie’s dynamite work as King but historical events are sketchy and film never really makes you understand Johnson or his motivations. A good attempt by director Jay Roach and Cranston (who previously collaborated on last year’s “Trumbo”) that falls short. Continue reading →
May 30, 2016 “The Devil’s Woods” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless horror drama about a group of friends trying to repair their strained relationships while camping in rural Ireland and are besieged and stalked by dark and mysterious forces and are killed off one-by-one. Yet another low-budget exercise in gore and mayhem but where are the scares or the fun? Good music score by Paul Scott is one of film’s few virtues. Watch “The Devil’s Rejects” again instead. Continue reading →
May 30, 2016 “Never Back Down: No Surrender” (*** out of four) was the third entry in the MMA series about former champion Case Walker (Michael Jai White who also directed) who travels to Thailand to train his buddy for a championship fight but is forced to step in the ring himself facing a monstrous opponent and an evil millionaire promoter (Esai Morales). Packed with the requisite amount of hand-to-hand fights and action scenes to satisfy fans. Jai White does a good job on both sides of the camera. In the meantime, bring on “Spawn 2”! Continue reading →
May 29, 2016 “Never Back Down: No Surrender” (*** out of four) was the third entry in the MMA series about former champion Case Walker (Michael Jai White who also directed) who travels to Thailand to train his buddy for a championship fight but is forced to step in the ring himself facing a monstrous opponent and an evil millionaire promoter (Esai Morales). Packed with the requisite amount of hand-to-hand fights and action scenes to satisfy fans. Jai White does a good job on both sides of the camera. In the meantime, bring on “Spawn 2”! Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “The Do-Over” (*** out of four) was a pretty funny comedy starring Adam Sandler and David Spade as two down-on-their-luck losers who decide to fake their own deaths and start over with new identities but soon find out the people they’re pretending to be are even deeper trouble. And that’s just the beginning of the story! Off-the-wall story is ridiculous and contrived but throws in everything but the kitchen sink and never stops moving. Sandler and Spade have great chemistry and play off each other well and there are some real laughs along the way. Not a bad do-over for either one of them, considering the amount of terrible movies they’ve made over the last 5 years Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Manhattan Night” (** out of four) was a tepid NYC noir drama about an opportunistic journalist (Adrian Brody) drawn into a criminal and sexual underworld of the city when he meets a seductive stranger (Yvonne Strahovski) who asks him to investigate the mysterious murder of her filmmaker husband (Campbell Scott). Brody is strong as always but story gets lurid and sleazy and never shifts into high gear. Strahovski is good as the femme Fatale but Scott is miscast and unconvincing as a sleaze. You can only imagine what Hitchcock or Robert Altman could have done with juicy material like this. Continue reading →
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