March 16, 2017 “House Of VHS” (* out of four) was an excruciatingly low-grade horror thriller about six friends who get together in a French mansion and find an old VCR which they soon find out is cursed and leads to their demise. Cinematically, this is strictly amateur night in terms of acting and filmmaking. Worse, film offers no scares or thrills and is a real snooze. One would expect more irony in a horror movie whose main evil character is a VCR. Watch “House Of Cards” instead. Continue reading →
March 16, 2017 “T2: Trainspotting” (***1/2 out of four) was an electric sequel to the 1996 cultural phenomenon picking up 20 years after the events of the original film as Renton (Ewan McGreggor) returns to Scotland and reunites with former pals Sick Boy (Ewan Bremner) and Simon (Jonny Lee Miller) while the psychopathic Begbie (Robert Carlyle) escapes from prison and comes after them for revenge. Director Danny Boyle ably duplicates the original’s fever-dream style and laces it with a razor-sharp script that is alternately funny, thrilling, and haunting at times. All four original cast members are terrific and recreate their chemistry from the original as they all transition into middle-age, with Bremner a standout this time around. What might have been a needless nostalgia trip turns out to be Boyle’s most entertaining film in years and a tribute and wild continuation of the original. Bullseye! Continue reading →
March 16, 2017March 16, 2017 “The Matchbreaker” (** out of four) was a smug, predictable wannabe romantic comedy about a romantic idealist (Wesley Elder) who is just fired from his job and soon begins a career as a professional “matchbreaker” in which he is hired to break up other’s relationships. Complications arise, when he naturally falls in love with one of his targets (Christina Grimmie). If you can’t guess what happens next, get a new hobby. No sparks or surprises whatsoever but made palatable by decent performances and able direction from Caleb Vetter. Continue reading →
March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 “Moontrap: Target Earth” (*1/2 out of four) was a dull sci/fi melodrama about an astronaut (Sarah Butler) who discovers a long-forgotten ancient spacecraft on Earth and then travels to the moon where she meets the various machines controlling the wisdom and well-being of society. Imagine either “Gravity” or “The Martian” without any of their soul or excitement and this is probably what you would wind up with, and the two robots at the climax seem ripped off from “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” Completely generic sci-fi story feels spit out of a computer. Continue reading →
March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 “Time Toys” (** out of four) was a juvenile time-travel adventure story about a group of middle-school brats who discover a chest of toys from the future which they soon realize can (yawn) save the world but their discovery is threatened from a sinister corporate madman (Greg Germann) who wants both them and the toys extinct. Only for very undemanding young kids who’ve never seen “Back To The Future” or even “Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Film’s best line comes at the end when a key character says “don’t see ‘Transformers 18’- it sucks” but he may as well have said the same thing about this trifle. Continue reading →
March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 “Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word” (** out of four) was a muddled supernatural thriller about a young man named Johnny Frank (Devin Bonnee) who is executed for a heinous crime he didn’t commit but leaves behind a curse letter which executes vengeance on all connected to his unfair trial and how the prosecuting attorney (Mike Doyle) tries to save himself and his family and resolve his own feelings of bitter guilt. Admirable attempt at a horror story mixed with an anecdote about the machinations of the criminal justice system is too silly and too routine to succeed as a whole. Doyle’s fine performance is a plus and makes this watchable. Continue reading →
March 15, 2017 “Top Coat Cash” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash, derivative action melodrama about a skilled MMA fighter (David Tittone) who returns home from Vegas and is recruited by various underworld figures to engage in a ruthless bank robbery which leads to a multitude of consequences no one foresees. Director/writer/star Tittone lacks personality and the same could be said for his script and direction. Even the action scenes and bank robbery aren’t particularly well-staged. Hard-core action and MMA fans would best spend their “cash” elsewhere. Continue reading →
March 15, 2017 “Virtual Revolution” (**1/2 out of four) was an intriguing, if not quite revolutionary, futuristic action thriller set in Paris 2047 in which a government shadow agent (Mike Dopud) works in a dystopian society in which all live in virtual worlds online and he is hired by a ruthless corporation to track down terrorists who threaten to disrupt this system and blur the line between virtual reality and reality. Impressive production design and very stylish cinematography by Cyril Bron highlight the by-now standard futuristic look of tall skyscrapers and flying machines; unfortunately, the story and script get overly murky, talky, and cerebral as it goes along. A fairly impressive directing debut for Guy-Roger Duvert who shows himself as a visual stylist but this is best watched with the sound off. Continue reading →
March 14, 2017 “Can’t Buy My Love” (** out of four) was a plastic romantic comedy about a rich snob (Benjamin Hollingsworth) and a paramedic applying for medical school (Adelaide Kane) who meet cute and then gradually bicker and fall in love, despite their different places in life. As contrived as it is predictable, with a tacked-on happy ending, although ace character actor James Remar has some nice moments as Hollingsworth’s dad. Director Farhad Mann shows a fumbling hand at romantic comedy which isn’t all that surprising from the guy who directed “Max Headroom” in the 80’s. Byetheway, this has no relation to the 1987 comedy of the same name with Patrick Dempsey. “Buy” that movie instead of this one. Continue reading →
March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 “Alp” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp horror thriller about a young man (Yusef Abdur-Razzaaq) who suffers from sleep paralysis and comes home to confront his demons and is immediately besieged by frightening hallucinations that make him question his state of mind and his sanity. Intriguing look at a serious mental and psychological illness goes nowhere, and will only make viewers question why they wasted their time on this, rather than watch “The Nightmare” instead. Razzaaq is good but cannot overcome film’s exploitative and routine approach. Continue reading →
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