September 30, 2017 “Don’t Sleep” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless horror thriller that will likely put you to sleep about two young lovers (Dominic Sherwood and Drea de Matteo) who move into a cottage together and are soon confronted by the horrors of their forgotten childhood involving his vindictive doctor (Cary Elwes). Umpteenth rip-off of “The Exorcist”, “The Shining”, and (naturally) “Paranormal Activity” offers no originality and hardly any scares. “Don’t Watch” would be a better title for this misfire. Continue reading →
September 30, 2017 “The Sound” (* out of four) was a static horror thriller without much horror and without any thrills about a supernatural skeptic (Rose McGowan) who is out to uncover various paranormal activity using low-frequency sound waves and is assisted by a mysterious underground worker (Christopher Lloyd) but soon is faced with unforeseen and evil memories from her past. Molasses-moving story is a real bore. It’s really sad to see one-time great character actor Lloyd and the beautiful McGowan stuck in dreck like this. Horror fans would be better watching “The Sound Of Music” instead. Continue reading →
September 30, 2017 “Gerald’s Game” (** out of four) was a monotonous adaptation of Stephen King’s best-seller about a husband and wife (Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gucino) who vacation in their remote lake house. In an attempt to spice up their marriage, they begin to engage in S & M but he dies after she is handcuffed to the bed leading her on a bewildered fight for survival as she goes through a physical and emotional breakdown. Well-acted but unpleasant story becomes too cerebral and murky especially in its final third. Comparisons to “Misery” are apt but that one was much richer and more terrifying. King also co-wrote the screenplay for this but his fans would be best watching “It” instead. Continue reading →
September 29, 2017 “Crash Pad” (*** out of four) was an occasionally very funny comedy about a young bachelor (Domnhall Gleeson) who has an affair with an older woman (Christina Applegate) and her vengeful but hedonistic husband (Thomas Haden Church) soon finds out but they become friends and her husband decides to move in with him while they enact revenge by living a bachelor life to the extreme! Silly story is hard to believe, to put it mildly, but Church’s very funny performance and some unexpectedly sharp dialogue make this a real surprise. Applegate seems to be playing more-or-less the same character she played in “Anchorman.” Continue reading →
September 29, 2017 “Hired Gun” (*** out of four) was an affecting documentary about the life of session musicians for such superstars as Kiss, Alice Cooper, Metallica, and many others from their highpoints to being on stage with the bands they love to the lows of often being unceremoniously dumped and often never receiving proper credit for what they’ve contributed personally and musically. Features numerous interesting interviews with Eric Singer, Jason Newsted, Alice Cooper, and (especially) Liberty Devvito and some rare and explosive concert footage. Film particularly paints an unflattering portrait of Billy Joel. Continue reading →
September 29, 2017 “American Assassin” (**1/2 out of four) was a reasonably engrossing but lukewarm action thriller about a young hothead (Dylan O’Brien) whose girlfriend is murdered by Islamic terrorists while they are on vacation and is subsequently drawn into the world of the C.I.A. involving a counter-terrorism unit run by a former Navy SEAL (Michael Keaton) who mentors him as they try to team up and enact revenge and at the same time save the world. Film moves fast and features plenty of action scenes and has a spectacular action climax yet remains oddly aloof and never connects emotionally. Yet another “Bourne” wannabe that comes frustratingly close to working but yet falls short. Keaton is first-rate as usual. Continue reading →
September 26, 2017 “The Child In Time” (** out of four) was a muddled story about a children’s book author (Benedict Cumberbatch) whose life begins to unravel and fall apart when his daughter suddenly goes missing and his relationship with her mother (Kelly Macdonald) subsequently falls apart. What starts off as a harrowing story of a child’s abduction and one man’s difficulty to cope and move on with his life badly loses its way, as story becomes aimless and adrift. Occasional touching scenes can’t save it. Cumberbatch is first-rate as usual but is unable to enrich the material. Continue reading →
September 26, 2017 “The Hatred” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller that horror fans really will hate about four college students (Sarah Davenport, Gabrielle Bourne, Bayley Corman, Alisha Wainwright) who travel to their college professor’s home in the countryside for a weekend getaway but soon find out that the house has a (don’t get scared yet) malevolent past and they are soon stalked to the death one by one. Opening scenes set in the past are laughable and reminiscent of “The Village”; later scenes recall any standard teen-in-peril or haunted house movie and aren’t much of an improvement. Continue reading →
September 25, 2017 “Lone Wolves” (*1/2 out of four) was a toothless post-apocalyptic thriller set in another vast wasteland in which a tough soldier (Warren Otteraa) is forced to live in an abandoned shack at the base of a radio tower in trying to hide from roaming monsters; he finally makes contact with a scientist (Alana Tranter) and a doctor (David Leeming) stranded at a space station and together they attempt to save civilization. Director Christopher Jacobs shows some promise and he also wrote, produced, and composed the music but it’s all wasted on a story we’ve seen way too many times before that rips off “28 Days Later” for the umpteenth time. Continue reading →
September 25, 2017 “Waffle Street” (** out of four) was a pleasant but predictable drama based on James Adams’ 2010 memoir about a young wealthy financial advisor (James Lafferty) whose laid off from his hedge fund during the recession and goes to work at a waffle fast-food chain and both rebuilds and expands his personal and financial knowledge with the aid of hard work and an elderly cook (Danny Glover) who befriends him. Glover is a pleasure to watch as always and it’s also good to see Marshall Bell back on the screen as the store manager but it’s all a bunch of empty calories. For a more stark and moving story about the recession, watch 2009’s “The Company Men” instead. Continue reading →
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