March 31, 2017 “Peelers” (*1/2 out of four) was a repellent vampire horror show about a nowheresville strip-club owner (Wren Walker) who is forced to defend her establishment and her strippers when the patrons begin behaving strangely one night and she subsequently finds out they have become supernatural killers! Not for the squeamish and not for too many others either. Someone at the controls evidently watched “From Dusk Till Dawn” several times before making this but there’s no George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, or (worse) Salma Hayek here. Continue reading →
March 31, 2017 “King Arthur: Excalibur Rising” (*1/2 out of four) was a less-than-exceptional retelling of the Arthurian legend about Arthur’s illegitimate son Owain (Adam Byard) who must realize his destiny and take up his mantle as King. Reasonably compelling at first but it soon sputters to a halt and becomes talky and sluggish. Muddy cinematography and cheap-looking sets aren’t much help. Yet another film obviously inspired by “Braveheart” and also “Robin Hood” but fails to match the sparks of either. Continue reading →
March 30, 2017 “Smoking Guns” (*1/2 out of four) was a murky underworld drama set in London among various gangsters and thieves who double-cross and shoot one another; one gangster assailant (Tommy O’Neill) attempts to bet it all on a horse race which he sees as a way out for him and his friends to win a fortune and leave the underworld behind. Thick English accents are tough to decipher at times but it’s unlikely that you’ll care and often not even worth the bother. Director Savvas Michael attempts to jack up the energy with flashy cutting and great soundtrack songs but story and characters are dead in the water. Watch “Trainspotting” or “Snatch” again instead. Continue reading →
March 29, 2017 “Atomica” (*1/2 out of four) was a drab futuristic melodrama without much action or thrills about a young safety inspector (Sarah Habel) who has to fly to a remote nuclear power plant in an isolated desert when communications go offline; once there, she begins to suspect that two of the employees (Tom Sizemore and Dominic Monaghan) aren’t exactly who they say and there may be larger issues at play. Yet another futuristic action picture in which the future simply isn’t what it used to be. Monaghan is one-note and annoying; Sizemore is hardly in it and looks hungover or exhausted or both. Continue reading →
March 29, 2017 “The Marine 5: Battleground” (*1/2 out of four) was a numbskull fifth entry in this ongoing series about a former marine turned EMT worker (Mike “The Miz” Mizanin) who responds to a distress call and finds himself protecting a gang-banger who is being hunted by a ruthless redneck biker gang. Even the action scenes are pretty lackluster and routine. Mizanin in the lead role makes one nostalgic for the brilliant dramatics and interpretations of original “Marine” John Cena, who wisely sat out the rest of this series after the original came out all the way back in 2006. Continue reading →
March 28, 2017 “Forced To Kill” (*1/2 out of four) was a confusing, tedious action melodrama that no one should be forced to watch about a widow (Jessica Kemejuk) who is forced to enter the criminal underworld and commit murder to settle her husbands gambling debts and get her daughter back alive. Kemejuk isn’t bad in the lead role but the writing, direction, and filmmaking certainly are. Standard-issue underworld thriller might play better on cable at 2:00 in the morning. Continue reading →
March 26, 2017 “Power Rangers” (*1/2 out of four) was a not-so-mighty reboot of the classic ’90’s television series about five high-school brats (Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludy Lin) who are infused with superpowers that they have to harness to (yawn) save the world. Fairly boring and cheesy re-telling lacks action and thrills and strips the characters of any real personalities at a bloated two hours. Attempts to rekindle the Saturday matinee feel of the 1995 version but resembles the 2015 “Fantastic Four” more than anything. Everyone seems to be going through the motions, including Bryan Cranston as their mentor. For die-hard Rangers fans only. Continue reading →
March 26, 2017 “Life” (*** out of four) was an extremely well-made space horror thriller about a team of scientists (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sonada) aboard the international Space Station who encounter a rapidly evolving life form who caused extermination on Mars and threatens to destroy the crew and thus Earth. Strikingly similar to “Alien” at times but hurtles along breathlessly with enough scares and thrills to transcend it’s origins. Gorgeously shot by Seamus McGarvey and impressively directed by Daniel Espinosa. Continue reading →
March 26, 2017 “Chips” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome adaptation of the hit 80’s television series about a pair of mismatched California highway patrol cops (Michael Pena and Dax Shephard) investigating department corruption which is headed by a villainous turncoat (Vincent D’Onofrio who can play this role in his sleep and does). Generic mix of action and comedy gets maximum mileage from Pena’s amusing performance but runs out of gas and laughs after about half-hour. Yet another television adaptation that dumbs down the ingredients that made the show so popular in the first place. In case you were wondering, original star Erik Estrada has a cameo at the very end. Call 911. Continue reading →
March 25, 2017 “Be Afraid” (** out of four) was a tepid horror thriller about a doctor (Brian Krause) who moves his family to a small town but begins to suffer sleep paralysis and soon discovers that not all is right and that there are many hidden truths and horrors beneath the town’s nice facade. Krause’s solid and strong performance holds your attention for a while but story never takes off and covers all-too-familiar territory. By now, is there any horror movie in which characters have moved to a small town and been happy? Continue reading →
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