October 13, 2017 “The Foreigner” (** out of four) was a murky conspiracy thriller about a former military official (Jackie Chan) whose daughter is murdered in a terrorist explosion and he subsequently goes to Ireland to uncover the truth and solve her murder and enters into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a corrupt government official (Pierce Brosnan). Tired story of revenge and political intrigue from director Martin Campbell who has covered this ground before; features surprisingly little of Chan’s action acrobatics and Brosnan’s Irish accent is a tad overbaked. Strong electronic score by Cliff Martinez. Continue reading →
October 13, 2017 “The Lego Ninjago Movie” (**1/2 out of four) was a lively animated action children’s story about the alienated son (voice of Dave Franco) of an evil warlord who seeks refuge from a kindly master (voiced by- who else?- Jackie Chan) and his fellow ninjas to destroy his father and seek his own identity in life. Lots of action keeps this moving along and should entertain young kids and families but it never fully detonates until the end. There are some surprising laughs and some striking and colorful animation as well but it overall rings hollow. About on par with the previous “Lego” movies. Continue reading →
October 13, 2017 “Freehold” (* out of four) was a disjointed mess about a homeless weirdo (Javier Botet) who unbeknowingly moves into the home of a successful bickering yuppie couple (Kola Bikkini and Mandeep Dhillon) and proceeds to explore his new surroundings while turning their lives into reckless havoc. Inept story could have been a satire about the rich and the unfortunate but only proceeds in being disgusting and often incoherent. Since we don’t care about any of the characters, it’s hard to care about the film itself. Paul Mazursky got far more juice (and laughs) out of virtually the same story in 1986′ “Down And Out In Beverly Hills.” Continue reading →
October 12, 2017 “The Night Before” (*1/2 out of four) was a trashy and stupid exploitation horror movie about a young mother (Rachel Whittle) and her daughter who are taken captive in a bizarre home on the night before Halloween. No scares or thrills but just an excess of unpleasantness and gore. Horror fans are virtually guaranteed to forget this the day after. Continue reading →
October 12, 2017 “Spielberg” (*** out of four) was an impressively done documentary about legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg who began his life as just a boy who loved movies and grew into one of the most successful and revolutionary filmmakers of all time, from his commercial smashes (“Jaws”, “Jurassic Park”) to his personal and artistic triumphs (“Saving Private Ryan”, “Schindler’s List.”) Features interviews with friends and fellow filmmakers George Lucas and Martin Scorcese and also Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio among many others. Story covers some of Spielberg’s lesser works and as a result loses some interest but is most fascinating when showing his filming and ideas for both “Schindler’s List” and “Private Ryan” and his initial film “Jaws” which all cemented him as one of the best directors ever. Continue reading →
October 11, 2017 “Red Christmas” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty awful horror story set on Christmas about a mother (Dee Wallace) who must protect her family when a mumbling stranger appears at their household and the dead bodies start piling up one after another. Horror fans will probably enjoy the return of Wallace from the ’80’s classics from “The Howling” and “Critters” but will enjoy little else about this time-wasting schlock, with hardly any scares or thrills. For virtually the same story with more scares and style, watch “Black Christmas” instead. Continue reading →
October 10, 2017 “Infinity Chamber” (* out of four) was a torturous melodrama that makes you feel as if you’re stuck in an infinity chamber in which a determined prisoner (Christopher Soren Kelly) is trapped in an automated prison and befriends a female inmate (Cassandra Clark) and the two of them must attempt to outsmart a computer to try and escape to the outside world which may or not still exist. Similar in some ways to “Passengers” and to early Phillip K. Dick sci/fi but endless talk, static pacing, and dreary characters make this feel like a death sentence. A half-hour idea ridiculously padded out to nearly two hours. Continue reading →
October 9, 2017 “Better Watch Out” (* out of four) was a nearly unwatchable horror thriller about a young babysitter (Olivia DeJonge) who is hired to watch an annoying brat (Levi Miller) for the evening when there is suddenly a home invasion and him and one of his even more annoying friends (Ed Oxenbould) hold her hostage and torment her. Anyone who makes it to the end of this mess will know exactly how she feels. Unusually mean-spirited and unpleasant film plays like a junior-high school version of “Desperate Hours.” Everyone has to pay the bills but one time great character actress Virginia Madsen (who plays the boy’s mom) should surely “watch out” for dreck like this. Continue reading →
October 9, 2017 “Cold Moon” (*1/2 out of four) was an unpleasant and uninvolving story set in redneck Florida in which the town residents are up in arms when a young 14-year old is found murdered in a local river and tied to her bicycle and the ensuing suspects include the local sheriff (Frank Whaley), an enderly and incapacitated senior citizen (Christopher Lloyd), a local troublemaker (Josh Stewart), and other swell folks. Decent cast is eclipsed by story and characters with no appeal and interest and leads to a pretty unsatisfying ending for anybody who sticks this through. This just about cries out for the David Lynch of “Blue Velvet” or “Twin Peaks”. Continue reading →
October 8, 2017 “Marjorie Prime” (** out of four) was a tepid story set in the not-too-distant future in which a husband and wife (Tim Robbins and Geena Davis) are able to utilize holographic recreations of deceased loved ones and how this enables both them and their mother (Lois Smith) to have a relationship with a younger version of the patriarch (Jon Hamm) of the family and how this leads to all of them questioning their identity and their relationships. Story attempts to incorporate themes of artificial intelligence and dehumanization in the overwhelming wave of technology but is overall muted and aloof, and plays like warmed-over themes from Stanley Kubrick. Interesting cast is mostly left high-and-dry. Continue reading →
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