May 28, 2016 “The Ones Below” (*1/2 out of four) was a dull melodrama set in England about a couple expecting their first child who discover an unnerving similarity between them and the couple who live downstairs in their flat. Endless talk and bland and aloof characters turn this into much ado about nothing. Put this “one” below on your list. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Blood Orange” (*1/2 out of four) was a terminally weird melodrama about an aging rock star (Iggy Pop- well cast at nearly 70) who lives in an enclosed estate with his promiscuous wife but trouble arrives when her former lover shows up and is seeking revenge. Heavy-handed and bizarre; even Pop can’t even breathe much life into this one. At nearly 70, he should start to have a lust for better scripts. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Cash Only” (** out of four) was a murky underworld melodrama about a Detroit landlord (Nickola Shreli who looks like a Jewish Vin Diesel) in severe financial problems and about to be foreclosed on by the bank who finds some money in an evicted tenant’s apartment but this leads to further problems and complications with the Detroit underworld and mob when they want their money back. Violent, ugly thriller isn’t bad but is let down by a meandering and weak screenplay. Shreli’s empathic performance helps keep this watchable but this still isn’t worth spending your “cash” on. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Gearheads” (*1/2 out of four) was a forgettable Redbox drama for lunkheads about a conflicted teen (Massimo Lista) who is trained by a grizzled mechanic (Jeffrey Carpenter) to overcome his fear of driving and compete to win a race in his hometown. Standard small-town drama involving sports underdogs, bullies, and a beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks won’t make anyone forget “The Dirt Bike Kid”, “Hoosiers”, or “Rudy” anytime soon. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Dusk” (** out of four) was a confusing horror thriller about a husband (Josh McGlothlin) who awakens to find his wife disappeared and a ransom demand that takes him through various entwinings of the Southern underworld. Not all that different from “Two Wrongs” which I reviewed yesterday and not bad but could have used more conviction and clarity in its storytelling. Good cinematography from Ryan Lewis is a definite plus. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Money Monster” (*** out of four) was an edge-of-your-seat melodrama about a television Wall Street advisor (George Clooney) taken hostage on air by a depraved gunman (John O’Connell) who wants answers for his recent stock crash which resulted in millions in losses for him and others. A perfect role for Clooney and Julia Roberts has one of her best roles in years as his director who tries to keep her cool while trying to frantically keep them alive. Unfortunately, the story starts to get ridiculous towards the end as it bogs down in sanctimonious moralizing involving Dominic West as a corrupt C.E.O. Still, it’s tense and always keeps you watching. Directed by Jodie Foster and this has obvious inspiration from “Inside Man” which she also starred in. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “The Darkness” (*1/2 out of four) was an umpteenth, by-the-numbers horror story about a haunted house, satanic curses, and (yawn) a demonically possessed child. A workaholic father (Kevin Bacon) moves his family into a new house when his son suddenly begins behaving strangely and endangers the family’s safety and sanity (and the audience’s patience). Hard to believe there could be yet another rip-off of both “The Shining” and “Poltergeist” but horror fillmmakers keep churning out the same story over and over. Why a top-notch character actor like Bacon starred in this is scarier and more mystifying than anything on screen. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Two Wrongs” (**1/2 out of four) was an engrossing Redbox thriller about a single mom nurse (Gillian Zinser) whose daughter is abducted and is forced to play a game of cat-and-mouse with the kidnapper involving his own daughter who was kidnapped and murdered years ago. Lack of logic and story contrivances are compensated by Zinser’s strong and empathic performance and the novelty of not making the kidnapper a one-dimensional monster. Strong supporting cast helps as well. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Stormageddon” (*** out of four) was an explosive Redbox tech-thriller about a master computer program that infiltrates America’s entire online computer programming and gains the ability to manipulate weather, create earthquakes, and threaten worldwide destruction; two civilians (John Hennigan and Eve Mauro) try to stay alive and save the world. Not quite as clever as its title but never stops moving and features some impressive special effects and large-scale action scenes. Movie fans will note the similarity of this to “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012” but this is actually better than both of them. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “Back In The Day” (*1/2 out of four) was an unpleasant and uninvolving melodrama about as artificial as the fake NYC accents the characters use set in the late 80’s in Brooklyn when a young boxer (William Demeo) is taken under the wing of the local mob boss (Michael Madsen who could play this role in his sleep by now and does in some scenes) and becomes involved in the underbelly of the sports and criminal underworld. Unlikely derivation of “Rocky” and “Mean Streets” is crippled by Demeo’s lack of charisma and likeability. Livened up a little by strong supporting cast including Shannon Doherty, Alec Baldwin, and Danny Glover but they all made better movies back in the day. Continue reading →
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