September 5, 2017 “Wind River” (**1/2 out of four) was a respectful, if not enthralling, murder-mystery set on a Native American reservation in Wyoming in which an eager F.B.I. agent (Elizabeth Olsen) teams up with a veteran game tracker (Jeremy Renner) and the local sherriff (Graham Greene) to solve the mystery but find there numerous clues to unravel with the local townsfolk and also local law enforcement. Film has beautiful cinematography, a stirring Muzak music score (reminiscent of “Fargo”), and takes you to a different place and culture but never fully catches fire. Final plot twist and murder scene is harrowing but film overall has limited impact. Renner is strong as always and Olsen is first-rate. Continue reading →
September 4, 2017September 4, 2017 “Forgotten Evil” (*1/2 out of four) was a forgettable horror trifle about an amnesiac (Masiela Lusha) trying to piece her life back together after a tragic incident but soon finds that the past is soon coming back to haunt her. For a richer and more striking movie about amnesia, watch 1991’s “Shattered” instead. Filmgoers will likely want to forget this movie as soon as possible anyhow Continue reading →
September 3, 2017September 3, 2017 “The Vault” (**1/2 out of four) was a taut, stylish thriller about two estranged sisters (Taryn Manning and Francesca Eastwood) who rob a bank to help their ailing brother but soon come to realize that this is no ordinary bank and that evil and death awaits them when they break into the bank’s underground vault. Well-directed and well-acted but story uneasily combines elements of a heist thriller, horror story, and sci/fi and doesn’t fully gel and final twist at the end is pretty hard to believe or make sense of. Better than most direct-to-Netflix schlock overall but still comes up empty in the stretch. James Franco has a key role as the bank’s assistant manager. Continue reading →
September 3, 2017 “My Cousin Rachel” (** out of four) was a sterile drama about a young Englishman (Sam Claflin) who journeys to the countryside seeking vengeance against a beautiful woman (Rachel Weisz) who he believes was responsible for his cousin’s death but he soon finds himself falling in love with her instead. Beautifully photographed but both plodding and aloof, and end result isn’t satisfying. Claflin is strong in the lead but Weisz is surprisingly blank and her and Claflin don’t have the fiery chemistry that film needs. Continue reading →
September 2, 2017 “Dead Again In Tombstone” (** out of four) was a logy Western about a fallen Mexican soldier (who else but Danny Trejo?) who returns from the dead to protect a stolen relic from falling in the hands of a ruthless gang (led by Jake Busey) and protect his daughter and at the same time saving the town in which he has found refuge. Standard issue Western full of the usual brown-and-red dust, bars, and standoffs. Neither the best nor worst of its kind but fails to bring the Western genre back from the dead again, as “Lonesome Dove” and “Unforgiven” did decades earlier. Both Trejo and Busey are good but can play these roles in their sleep by now. Continue reading →
September 2, 2017 “Jackals” (*1/2 out of four) was a turkey set in the wilderness in which a family (Jonathan Schaech, Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen Dorff) are besieged by a sadistic cult while they are vacationing in their cabin and the cultists (Ben Sullivan) want to take their son as their own. Umpteenth horror movie set in the woods (“Cabin In The Woods”, “Don’t Stop”, “You’re Next”, the list goes on) fails to breathe any new life into these old cliches. Remarkable cast for such tired material. Set for no particular reason in the 1980’s. Continue reading →
September 2, 2017 “Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter” (*1/2 out of four) was a robotically told and monotonous action thriller set in yet another post-apocalyptic future in which Earth has been overthrown by artificial intelligence and one lone warrior (Tracey Birdsall) tries to restore balance and save humanity and civilization as we know it. Unfortunately, the future just isn’t what it used to be after an onslaught of numerous (and better) movies about the apocalypse and collapse of civilization. Birdsall (who resembles a grungier Pamela Anderson) is good but is eclipsed by routine and by-the-numbers story. Continue reading →
September 2, 2017 “Broken Mile” (**1/2 out of four) was a strikingly told, if not altogether successful, melodrama thriller shot in one continuous take about a drug addict (Fransisco Filice) who awakens to find the girl that he was with is dead and he must stay on the run to avoid the consequences from both the law and her real killer as he tries to find solace and find out who he can and cannot trust. Cinema-verite guerilla filmmaking technique is fascinating and holds your attention even though the story begins to get repetitive and ugly after a while. A remarkable feat, if not exactly a remarkable film but well-worth watching. Justin McConnell’s colorful cinematography and Sean Motley’s eerie music score are undeniable standouts. Continue reading →
September 2, 2017 “Ryde” (*1/2 out of four) was a grisly, heavy-handed horror thriller about a new ride-sharing service a la Uber that brings strangers a little too close together and how one deranged stranger in particular (David Wachs) starts picking up strangers and randomly killing them. All this movie does is just randomly kill your time. Director Brian Viciglia shows some style and flash (and obviously watched “Taxi Driver” a few times before filming) but the result is slight and forgettable. Continue reading →
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