May 15, 2016 “Chasing Waterfalls” (*1/2 out of four) was synthetic tripe about a young fashion designer (Drew Sidora) who gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with a fashion icon and then must rise to the challenge to save the company from a competing former co-worker. Don’t go “Chasing Waterfalls” as TLC once sang. TLC song titles like “This Is It How It Should Be Done”, “Unpretty”, and “So So Dumb” are more apt song titles to describe the movie. For young impressionable teenage girls only. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Mother’s Day” (** out of four) was a tiresome, contrived Garry Marshall confection about three generations of mothers (Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Britt Robertson) and their assorted problems intersecting in the week leading up to Mother’s Day. Despite the A-list of actresses, the script never rises above sitcom level. With that cast, it’s easy to watch……but just as easy to forget. About on par with Marshall’s previous “Valentines Day” and “New Years Day”. It’s about time he took a holiday from romantic comedies. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Code Of Honor” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average Redbox thriller starring a bloated Steven Seagal as a one-man vigilante team trying to eradicate crime from his ravaged city; his young protégé (Craig Sheffer) now a cop is assigned to stop him which leads to a clash. Packed with violent action and lots of familiar faces we haven’t seen in a while but it’s let down by a ludicrous “twist” ending and subsequent lack of logic. Still, overall a much better pic than many of Seagal’s direct-to-DVD fodder over the last two decades. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Kindergarten Cop 2” (*** out of four) was a cute direct-to-DVD sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger 1990 favorite about a gruff FBI agent (Dolph Lundgren) assigned to go undercover as a kindergarten teacher in order to retrieve some stolen data and stop a threat to their town. Lundgren has never been more likable and winning, and he carries this very unnecessary but entertaining sequel. Not quite as intricate or funny as the first but better than most other sequels made 26 years after the original. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Captain America: Civil War” (**1/2 out of four) was an overlong, overstuffed third entry in the comic-book series about how various personal and political interferences lead to a feud and battle between Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) which threatens to divide and destroy The Avengers. More akin to “The Avengers 3” than “Captain America 3” but not that that’s a bad thing; some good action scenes and effects as you would expect but almost fatally overlong and has some real lulls in the middle. Battle between The Avengers at an airport is movie’s highlight. Worth watching for Marvel hard-core fans but a disappointment when compared to the previous “Captain America” and “Avengers” entries. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Confirmation” (***1/2 out of four) was a riveting melodrama about the notorious sexual harassment case of the early 1990’s in which Judge Clarence Thomas (Wendell Pierce) was nominated for the Supreme Court which was derailed by the accusations of his former colleague Anita Hill (Kerry Washington). A fascinating, multifaceted look at a powerful case whose aftereffects are still reverberating and the multiple political machinations that were involved in this scandal. Extremely well-directed by Rick Famuyiwa and anchored by strong performances from Pierce, Washington, and also Greg Kinnear as Senator Joe Biden. Continue reading →
May 7, 2016 “Barbershop: The Next Cut” (*** out of four) was a funny third entry showing the crew at Calvin’s Barbershop coming together to try to bring some change as their Chicago neighborhood starts to fall apart due to gangs and violence. Queen Latifah is noticeably absent but Nicki Minaj acquits herself nicely as the new hairdresser and weave specialist. Carried along by the easygoing camaraderie between Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, and Common but also deserves extra points for pertinent social commentary regarding youth and violence. A definite worthy addition to the series and worthwhile for fans of the first two. Continue reading →
May 2, 2016 “The Cutter” (** out of four) was a not-bad action thriller starring Chuck Norris as (what else) a renegade detective coming to the aid of a beautiful diamond cutter (Joanna Palicula) caught in the crossfire of a violent underworld war related to The Holocaust. Not as explosive or action-packed as you might expect and features an unusual amount of character development for this kind of thing but Norris is ageless and likeable and makes this watchable. Made in 2005 and released only recently but Norris has made far worse than this. Continue reading →
May 2, 2016 “Christmas Land” (** out of four) was a treacly comedy-drama about a yuppie businesswoman (Nikki Deloach) who inherits a Christmas-themed farm and initially plans to sell it but soon changes her mind when she falls in love with the down-home townsfolk. Feel-good holiday themed story is vibrantly shot and certainly pleasant enough but predictable at every turn and not helped by a tacked-on happy ending. Not surprisingly, this was made by and for The Hallmark Channel. Watch “A Christmas Story” again instead. Continue reading →
May 2, 2016 “Sacrifice” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror melodrama about a hospital surgeon (Radha Mitchell) and her husband (Rupert Graves) who move to The Shetland Islands where they discover a body in the house that may be linked to an urban horror legend. The Shetland Islands scenery is pretty but otherwise there’s nothing legendary about this movie. Don’t sacrifice two hours of your life on this timewaster Continue reading →
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