June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “47 Meters Down” (*** out of four) was a harrowing thriller about two sisters (Claire Holt and Mandy Moore) on a vacation in Mexico who becone trapped in a shark observation cage when it sinks to the bottom of the ocean with several Great Whites circling nearby and their oxygen depleting as they struggle to get to the surface! Tense and unnerving thriller delivers the goods in style and makes the recent shark thriller “The Shallows” look like a school session by comparison. Good underwater photography and good performances. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017 “Transformers: The Last Knight” (*1/2 out of four) was a leaden fifth entry in the now-exhausting series about (yawn) the continuing battle between robots and humans, and how Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) finds out he is the title descendant who can negotiate a truce in battle. Packed with the series’ usual visual effects and noise but it’s all boring, since you’ve seen it all before (and better) in previous entries. Fittingly enough- this feels spit-out and made by robots. And it goes on forever! Only Megan Fox could have possibly saved this junk but Anthony Hopkins adds some style as an astronomer and historian who knows of the Transformers’ history on Earth. What a waste of time and money! Continue reading →
June 23, 2017 “Girls Gone Dead” (*1/2 out of four) was a lame horror thriller which was nowhere near as clever as its title about six college friends who go on Spring Break to a beach party where naturally a homicidal maniac shows up and stalks them to the death. The killer’s mask and movements are similar to “Scream” but serial killer murderers just ain’t as much fun as they used to be! Lots of sex and drugs, little in the way of originality or plot coherence. Jerry Lawler, Ron Jeremy, and Linnea Quigley all pick up a couple of extra bucks in dumb cameo roles. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Deadly Sorority” (** out of four) was a standard-issue horror thriller about two best friends (Greer Grammer, Emilija Baranac) who attend college together but soon go their separate ways when one of them begins to join a sorority. Soon, one of them is murdered and the other becomes the prime suspect who begins to investigate the murder herself. Competently made and acted but offers no surprises whatsoever, until the end which is howlingly ridiculous. Moira Kelly has a key supporting role as a college teacher but she would have fared better taking part in the “Twin Peaks” reunion instead. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Death Pool” (** out of four) was a moody but mediocre psychological thriller about a disturbed young boy who grows up to be a murderous adult (Randy Wayne) who has an insatiable urge to drown good-looking young females when he sees water, due to an abusive childhood incident that he endured. More layers of character development and psychological context than usual for this type of movie but it drowns in its own unpleasantness. Attempts to make comments on childhood trauma and glorification of media violence but is still pretty soft and routine at its core. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017 “Rough Night” (*** out of four) was an often very funny comedy about five college friends (Scarlett Johannson, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz, Jillian Bell and Ilana Glazer) who reunite for a bachelorette party in Miami and hire a male stripper who suddenly dies. And that’s just the beginning of the story! Starts to lose steam in the final third and become overly silly but features a solid amount of laughs and is carried along by the chemistry and camaraderie among the four leads. Easily comparable to “The Hangover” and “Brides Maids” and also primarily 1998’s “Very Bad Things”. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Hack House” (*1/2 out of four) was a hack movie about six criminals in a halfway house who must band together and fight when a mass murderer breaks in and turns the place into a slaughterhouse but it turns out he is after a secretive government witness. Sounds a lot more fun than it plays out. Not exactly incompetent but low-rent and (worst of all) boring, and owes more than a little to John Carpenter’s “Assault On Precinct 13.” Continue reading →
June 21, 2017 “The Dinner” (** out of four) was a disjointed melodrama about two sets of parents (Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall) who meet to converse about life and discuss about a horrific crime their sons have committed. Despite good performances, this film often feels like desaturated Woody Allen and Robert Altman and may have worked better on the stage. Film brings up some provocative ideas about politics and privileged family ties but end result isn’t satisfying because script is meandering and unfocused. A disappointment from director Oren Moverman who directed “The Messenger” and a disappointing reunion for Gere and Linney who through off a lot more sparks together in “Primal Fear.” Continue reading →
June 20, 2017 “Counter Punch” (*** out of four) was an interesting Netflix documentary focusing on the waning popularity of boxing and how three fighters (Christopher Colbert, Cam F. Awesome, and Peter Quillin) at various stages of their careers make various sacrifices to become champions and restore the sport to its glory days of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. Far from being groundbreaking or original but a passionate look at how hard some people have to work and train to achieve their dreams, and all boxers are very likeable and ruminative of their struggling. Features interviews with Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Claressa Shields, Paulie Malignaggi, Steve Kim, and others. Continue reading →
June 20, 2017 “Resident Evil: Vendetta” (*** out of four) was a visually dazzling Japanese-animated entry in the series set between the events of parts 6 and 7 about the soldier Chris Redfield (voiced by Kevin Dorman) enlisting government agent Leon Kennedy (voiced by Matthew Mercer) and Professor Rebecca Chambers (voiced by Erin Cahill) from stopping a deadly virus from spreading in New York. Story and script are nothing original but spectacular and eye-popping animation take center stage and makes this a must-see, especially for series fans and fans of Japanese animation. Scenes set in NYC in the final third are a wow! Continue reading →
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