November 12, 2016 “Dog Eat Dog” (** out of four) was a gruesome, ugly underworld thriller set in Cleveland about a vengeful mafia henchmen who hires a crew of ex-cons (Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe and others) to kidnap the baby of a rival mobster. Naturally, complications arise and things go horribly wrong. Typically sordid and unpleasant collections of characters and plot twists from Paul Schrader (“Affliction”, “Taxi Driver”, “Light Sleeper”) but best left to his most hard-core fanbase. Not the worst of its kind but missing the electricity and passion that Martin Scorcese would have infused in this material. Cage is entertaining; Dafoe is miscast as a sleaze who cries too often. Continue reading →
November 12, 2016 “True Memoirs Of An International Assassin” (**1/2 out of four) was a likeable Netflix comedy about an author (Kevin James) whose fiction book about a deadly assassin is misconstrued as non-fiction and he is suddenly thrust into the world of his book involving international espionage and underworld crossfire involving the D.E.A., the mob, and the South American government. Amusing but overly contrived comedy at least never stops moving. James’ effortless likeability helps carry this a long way and Zulay Henao is strong also as a D.E.A. avenger who befriends James. Continue reading →
November 12, 2016 “Shut In” (*1/2 out of four) was a ridiculous psychological thriller starring Naomi Watts as a widowed child psychologist whose husband was killed and her son seriously injured in a car crash and who now lives an isolated existence in rural New England. In the midst of a deadly storm, she attempts to rescue a young boy but old secrets from the past threaten their existence. This progressively dumb and ugly thriller should have been “shut down” before filming began. Final plot twist 3/4 of the way through is laughable. Watts is far too strong an actress for this weak material. Continue reading →
November 12, 2016 “Arrival” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring sci/fi snooze about a linguist (Amy Adams) recruited by the military to interpret alien communications. You keep thinking something significant is going to happen but nothing ever does, as film plods on for nearly two hours. Adams is terrific as usual but is unable to enrich this weak material. A real disappointment from director Denis Villaneuve who directed the superior “Prisoners” and will be directing the upcoming “Blade Runner” sequel. And what a real waste of a fine supporting cast, including Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner. Continue reading →
November 11, 2016 “Excess Baggage” (** out of four) was an excessively dull drama about a widowed teacher (Brad Hills who also wrote and directed) who begins dating a new girl (Jennifer Kairis) but finds that they both have more personal and emotional baggage than either realizes. Hills’ engaging and empathic performance is the best thing about the movie but it’s mediocre at best. Thin storyline might play better on television. No relation to the dreadful 1997 Alicia Silverstone comedy of the same name, thank God. Continue reading →
November 10, 2016 “Texas Voodoo Zombies” (0 stars out of four) was a dreadfully inept horror thriller about a moronic former drug dealer (Sheleva Bailey) who takes a job as an exterminator to appease his corrupt probation officer but through a series of stupid complications, ends up spraying a zombie potion that turns his hood into a series of walking dead zombies. Abjectly painful acting has to be seen to be believed but this is by no means a recommendation. Awful script and direction mixed with lame zombie makeup turn this into a real horror show. Forewarned is forearmed. Continue reading →
November 9, 2016 “Alcoholist” (** out of four) was a preachy and unpleasant melodrama about an alcoholic (John Robinson) who attempts to detox and straighten his life out with the help of a concerned therapist (Gabriella Wright) while at the same time plotting to kill his neighbor (Bill Moseley) who he blames for his circumstances and misfortunes. Attempt to make meaningful statement about the treatise of alcoholism combined with a melodramatic revenge thriller doesn’t work, despite good performances and some striking imagery from director Lucas Pavetto. A good try that comes up short. Movies like these are enough to make you want to go to an A.A. meeting Continue reading →
November 9, 2016 “Fight Valley” (*1/2 out of four) was a grimy exploitation pic about female underworld streetfighters all of whom naturally look like models and one of whom is murdered and her determined sister (Susie Celek) attempts to go undercover as a fighter and find out “her killer.” Unpleasant and unbelievable from the word-go and not likely to satisfy MMA or t & a fans. Roger Corman was making far more entertaining movies with this same storyline in the ’80’s. Bottom of the world, ma! Continue reading →
November 9, 2016 “The Shelter” (** out of four) was a murky melodrama about a homeless man (Michael Pare) who wanders into an abandoned old house and soon finds that he cannot leave and how ancient spirits in the house bring him back to his youth when he was a troubled husband and father. Or something like that. Pare is excellent and re-affirms his status as a solid character actor but he is defeated by a muddled and at times incoherent storyline and script. About on par with the recent “Cardboard Boxer” in which Thomas Haden Church played a homeless man struggling to stay alive. Continue reading →
November 6, 2016 “The Devil’s Sorceress” (** out of four) was a passable horror thriller about a young girl (Naomi Battrick) whose father is dying but meets a mysterious woman (Anna Walton) whose the head of a demonic witches coven who offers to help save her father’s life if she offers in return the life of her firstborn child. Naturally, havoc ensues. Good-looking movie with impressive set design and cinematography is also unpleasant and gory. Must win some sort of award for having the most amount of shots of centipedes and blood-covered cherries than any movie in recent memory. Continue reading →
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