September 24, 2016 “Blood Trap” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismayingly awful horror thriller which traps the audience for nearly two hours with horrendous acting and ugly violence. Six criminals (including Vinnie Jones and Costas Mandylor) are hired to kidnap a young woman but when they break into her mansion, she turns the tables on them and all hell breaks loose. It’s movies like these that make you realize even more how great the “Friday The 13th” and “Halloween” series were in the ’80’s. Highly similar in plot and characters to “Don’t Breathe” which opened last month. “Don’t Watch” would be a much better title for this mess. Continue reading →
September 24, 2016 “I.T.” (**1/2 out of four) was a slick, stylish thriller about a businessman tycoon (Pierce Brosnan) whose company is about to make revolutionary changes to the flight industry when his company, his family, and their safety are turned upside down when he terminates a co-worker (Brian Mulvey) who turns out to be a serious sicko intent on revenge. Film follows a familiar and derivative pattern of “Fatal Attraction” but is well-cast, well-directed by John Moore, and maintains interest which cover up for story and logic holes. Brosnan shows he’s continuing to adapt well to his post-007 career. Continue reading →
September 24, 2016 “Minutes Past Midnight” (*1/2 out of four) was an over-the-top horror anthology tale in the vein of “Tales From The Darkside” and “Creepshow” telling nine horror stories set at midnight in which various demons, killers, cannibals, and other swell folks invade the Earth. None of the stories are worth listening to. Alternately silly, gory, stylish, and stupid but this is only worth watching past midnight if there’s absolutely nothing else on and you have difficulty going to bed. Continue reading →
September 24, 2016 “De Palma” (*** out of four) was an affectionately made documentary about legendary filmmaker Brian De Palma who is interviewed and documents his career of films, from his hits (“Carrie”, “The Untouchables”, “Mission: Impossible”) to his misses (“The Bonfire Of The Vanities”, “Mission To Mars”) to his misunderstood classics (“Blow Out”, “Casualties Of War”, “Scarface”). Nothing groundbreaking but an interesting look at a filmmaker who grew up as a Hitchcock film student and poured his creativity into a career that has spanned well-over five decades. A treat for De Palma fans but worth watching for film lovers and film students in general. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Joker’s Wild” (* out of four) was an incoherent bluff about a masked-clown assailant who guns down a a movie theater but the feisty owner (Lacy Marie Meyer) fights to re-open her business and punish him to the death. Anyone who lasts till the end of this fiasco will feel equally punished as well. Cheapjack production and inept filmmaking make this a not-so-wild film experience. One-time great character actors Eric Roberts and Martin Kove must be desperate to pay their bills because they show up in token supporting roles. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “The Intervention” (* out of four) was a staggeringly awful romantic comedy whose script and story could have used more than a few interventions before filming began. A weekend getaway for four couples is eventually found to be an intervention for one of the couple’s marriages. Since none of the couples are likeable, you probably won’t care whether they remain together or break up. Good cast (including Jason Ritter, Clea Duvall, Natasha Lyonne) are helpless against a terrible script. Yet another rehash of “The Big Chill” that turns out to be a big bore. An inauspicious directorial debut for Clea Duvall (daughter of Robert). Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Sully” (***1/2 out of four) was an excellent biographical drama of Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) who became a hero after making an emergency landing along the Hudson River saving all 155 flight crew and passengers aboard only to be interrogated and chastised by administrators for acting unprofessionally. Director Clint Eastwood tells the story simply but eloquently and frames it with powerful flashbacks to the crash and how everyone miraculously survived. Hanks is first-rate as always but so is Aaron Eckhart as his first officer and co-pilot who faces the blame and heroism. Movie is also refreshingly quick and short at about 90 minutes. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “The Good Neighbor” (*1/2 out of four) was a badly done melodrama about two annoying suburban brats (Logan Miller and Keir Gilchrist) who begin to eavesdrop and spy on an unsuspecting neighbor (James Caan) and gradually uncover that he may be a murderer! Not that different at all from 2007’s “Disturbia” with Shia Labouef but except this one shows a disturbing lack of brains. Ineptly directed and told and has some major gaps in logic. Only Caan keeps this one barely afloat with his effortless charisma and style. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “The Perfect Weapon” (** out of four) was a murky action melodrama set in the not-too-distant future where society is ruled by a powerful conglomerate and one hitman for the state (Johnny Messner) reunites with a former enemy (Steven Seagal) he thought was dead and this results in him rethinking his agenda and motivation for the kill. Visually dazzling at times, with art direction and production design clearly influenced by “Blade Runner”, but story and characters are hard to care about or get involved in. Messner is cool but one-note in the lead; Seagal is stiff and blank and in it very briefly. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Rob Zombie’s 31” (*1/2 out of four) was a wretched horror drama Zombiefied into yet another white-trash exercise in excess and gore. On the day before Halloween, five carnival employees (including Sherri Moon Zombie) are kidnapped and held hostage in an isolated compound known as “Murderworld” and are thrown into a game of 31 in which they have to survive 12 hours against a gang of maniacs dressed like clowns. Crude, stupid horror show once again shows Zombie’s affection for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Last House On The Left”, and other grindhouse cinema but you’d be better off re-watching those classics than watching this mess. Let’s hope for a White Zombie reunion before he steps behind the camera again. Continue reading →
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