September 12, 2017 “Residue” (*1/2 out of four) was crud about a none-too-bright private investigator (James Clayton) who reads a book of sinister origins which unknowingly puts him and his daughter (Taylor Hickson) in the eye of danger as evil forces soon threaten them both. Utterly dumb and derivative story cries out for the nimble and stylish touch of Sam Raimi from his “Evil Dead” series which this often rips off. Director Rusty Nixon shows some visual flair but unlikeable characters and his uninvolving story sink this. “Max Headroom” voice Matt Frewer and “Saw” co-star Costas Mandylor are wasted in bit supporting roles. Continue reading →
September 12, 2017 “G7” (* out of four) was an incoherent ghetto-underworld drama starring Snoop Dogg as a gangster named L7 who smokes weed, dabbles in the streets, and has to face the realities of his consequences behind bars so don’t look at this as too much of an acting stretch for him. More a music video than a feature film and features Tyron Turner from “Menace II Society” fame in a key role for good measure but it’s a real waste, even at less than an hour. Snoop also directed this but “Woof” would have been a better title for this directorial debut. Continue reading →
September 12, 2017 “It” (*** out of four) was a chilling and absorbing adaptation of Stephen King’s best-selling horror novel about a group of young bullied kids (Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Olaf and others) who band together and find that they are all being terrorized by a horrifying clown (Bill Skarsgard) who may be behind the reasons for the disappearance of numerous children in their small town. Impressively directed by Andy Muschietti who recalls the grandeur of early Spielberg and “Stand By Me” in showing the nightmares behind the facade of a picture-perfect Americana town and features plenty of scares. Very well-acted by its young cast. Marred only by some minor lulls. Continue reading →
September 10, 2017 “The Good Catholic” (** out of four) was a middling story about a dedicated young priest (Zachary Spicer) whose life and work are challenged when he falls in love with a troubled young woman (Wrenn Schmidt) and questions his own spiritual and personal path in life and his commitment to the church with his head priest (Danny Glover). Nicely told story is let down by an uneven screenplay which veers off into silliness too often, especially when the priests sit around and discuss the virtues of chocolate and strawberry cake! Glover is excellent as usual and so is John C. McGinley as another priest and their characters are actually more compelling than the main characters in the story. Continue reading →
September 10, 2017 “You Can’t Have It” (* out of four). Nor do you want it. Static melodrama set entirely in one bar in which a barfly (Matthew Pohlkamp) converses with the other annoying patrons on the last night a bar is open and sex and murder later ensue. Somehow, Armand Assante figures in this mess as a mysterious underworld figure whose also at the bar. Pretty desperate; it’s movies like these that make you feel like going to A.A. Continue reading →
September 10, 2017 “Circus Kane” (*1/2 out of four) was a slavish imitation of “Saw” and “The Haunting” about a reclusive circus-master (Tim Abell) who invites a group of social media stars to his haunted house and offers a grand prize of $250,000 to anyone who can make it out alive but they soon find out this is one tough house to make it out of. Full of various death traps, gore, and terrible acting. Strictly for masochists and those who can’t wait for “Jigsaw” to come out later this Fall. Continue reading →
September 10, 2017 “Gun Shy” (** out of four) was a zany, contrived comedy about an addled and aging rock star (Antonio Banderas) whose wife (Olga Kurylenko) is held hostage and he is kidnapped while on vacation in Chile and this escapade subsequently involves the C.I.A. and deranged former fans. Tiresome story has a few laughs at the beginning but soon sputters and runs out of steam. Banderas is game as usual and seems to have modeled his performance on Slash, Ozzy, and Weird Al but this is a far cry from “This Is Spinal Tap”. Continue reading →
September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 “One Small Indiscretion” (*1/2 out of four) was one small dud about a young girl (Tiera Skovbye) out for revenge against a family (Cru Ennis and Sienna Noelle) who she harbors dark secrets over and she then proceeds to move into their guest house and wreak havoc. Yet another “Fatal Attraction” clone that’s fatally dumb and predictable. In dire need of some sparks and surprises, and characters that are even slightly likeable. Continue reading →
September 7, 2017 “The Dark Below” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller about a young woman (Lauren Mae Shafer) who struggles for survival beneath a frozen lake while a demented serial killer (Zachary Beck) stalks her from the surface. Anyone who makes it to the end of this mess will have the real feeling of a struggle for survival. Amazingly, only 3 words are spoken in the entire film but believe me- you won’t be clamoring for anything more. You’ve got to give the filmmakers credit for attempting something this bizarre but the results are confusing, unpleasant, and unwatchable. One-time “Alien” co-star Veronica Cartwright has a head-scratching role as one of the killer’s other victims. Continue reading →
September 7, 2017 “Escape Room” (*1/2 out of four) was a laughably dumb horror thriller well-worth escaping from about the owner (Skeet Ulrich) of an escape room who purchases a box containing an evil demon from a malicious store owner (Sean Young); when four teens come to partake in the room, they find themselves being systemically stalked one by one. Badly written and directed, with irritatingly stupid characters who you’ll be rooting for to get slashed after a while. Plenty of tongue-in-cheek horror movie jokes thrown in for good measure but it sure would help if they were creative or funny. Continue reading →
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