December 17, 2017 “The Stolen” (*1/2 out of four) was a drab story that steals nearly two hours out of your life about a woman (Alice Eve) in the old West who sets out to find her kidnapped son in a newfound landscape which she has never explored and also exploring danger for the first time at every turn. Pretty to look at, at times, but otherwise pretty much of a bore. Eve does what she can with a threadbare role. It’s dull movies like these that have gradually killed Westerns over time. Continue reading →
December 17, 2017 “Infidelity In Suburbia” (** out of four) was a thoroughly obvious and predictable story of a bored housewife (Sarah Butler) who begins a steamy affair with her house contractor (Marcus Rosner) after she suspects her husband is having an affair but soon finds out that her lover is a serious sicko who won’t take no for an answer. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close ought to be touched that 30 years after the fact they’re still ripping off “Fatal Attraction” but viewers would be better re-watching that classic than watching this retread. Anyone who can’t guess the rest of this within about 20 minutes should get a new hobby. Continue reading →
December 17, 2017 “Beyond Skyline” (*** out of four) was an impressively done sequel to the 2010 original which wastes no time in hitting the ground and running as a burned out detective (Frank Grillo) attempts to free his son from the alien warship that threatened Earth in the original and returns and promises more havoc. Unnecessary sequel to a film that was 7 years old more than merits its worth with fast pace and plenty of action and visual effects which make it actually better than its original. Grillo is first-rate in the lead. Writer/director Liam O’Donnell throws in everything but the kitchen sink but importantly never stops things moving and entertaining. Continue reading →
December 15, 2017December 15, 2017 “Gangster Land” (** out of four) was a mediocre underworld cops melodrama set in 1930’s Prohibition-era Chicago in which “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn (Sean Faris) rose from amateur level boxer to eventual second-in-command of Al Capone’s criminal empire, despite the warring factions between the Italians and Irish (Mark Rolston, Milo Gibson, Peter Facinelli, and Jason Patric) going on around him. Lots of style, action, fedora hats, and fancy guns but it plays like a high-school version of the much better “L.A. Confidential” and “Gangster Squad.” Watchable but pretty forgettable. Patric fares best in cast as a crooked cop. Continue reading →
December 15, 2017 “The Cutlass” (*1/2 out of four) was an ugly horror thriller based on a true story about a young woman (Lirsa-Bel Hirschmann) vacationing in Trinidad who is kidnapped and has to turn the tables, both physically and psychologically, against her brutal abductor (Arnold Goindhan) as she fights to stay alive. Full of unpleasant scenes of tie-ups, escapes, and beatings; performances and filmmaking are perfunctory, and even the Trinidad scenery looks drab and trashy. Continue reading →
December 14, 2017 “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer” (** out of four) was an oppressively weird melodrama about a troubled surgeon (Colin Farrell) who befriends a young boy (Barry Keoghan) with a neurological disorder but it turns out that the boy has motives for vengeance against him and his wife (Nicole Kidman) and the rest of his family for a mishap that occurred with the surgeon years earlier and he makes all of them sick. Strikingly directed and filmed by director Yorgos Lanthimos but the result is off-puttingly bizarre and aloof like much of his previous work. Farrell is first-rate as usual; Kidman is wasted. This marks their second collaboration after last year’s awful “The Beguiled.” Continue reading →
December 13, 2017 “The Pirates Of Somalia” (*1/2 out of four) was a heavy-handed adaptation of Jay Bahadur’s novel showing him (Evan Peters) as a journalist who in 2008 ventured over to Somalia to immerse himself with various pirates and tell their story from their points of view. Opening scenes are wry and sardonic and have a good sense of humor but film soon sputters and goes downhill; Peters is annoying in the lead, both Al Pacino and Melanie Griffith are wasted in token roles, and Barkhad Abdi plays a gun-toting pirate for the umpteenth time. Film even shows various scenes from his breakthrough film “Captain Phillips” which was a movie with a lot more tension and style. Continue reading →
December 13, 2017 “9/11” (*** out of four) was a poignant melodrama set on the fateful day of 9/11/01 in which five people (Charlie Sheen, Luis Guzman, Gina Gershon, Wood Harris, and Olga Fonda) find themselves trapped in an elevator as they struggle to escape and survive and at the same time- come to terms with their lives and what is going on around them. A heartfelt tribute to those who gave all and those who lost everything on one of the most devastating days in American history. Sheen is unusually strong in a powerful performance. An interesting companion piece to OIiver Stone’s “World Trade Center.” Continue reading →
December 13, 2017 “Bullet Head” (*1/2 out of four) was a jarringly empty crime melodrama about three career criminals (Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, and John Malkovich) who are stuck inside an abandoned warehouse with law enforcement closing in, a vicious dog they have to hide from, and one treacherous cop (Antonio Banderas) in particular with a score to settle. Impressive cast is wasted on a tired story which offers no irony and no surprises and worse, no thrills and no inventive twists or dialogue either. Inevitable comparisons to “Reservoir Dogs” are apt but this fires blanks in contrast. Continue reading →
December 13, 2017 “Cops And Robbers” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly by-the-numbers thriller about as unimaginative as its title about a tough hostage negotiator (Michael Jai White) who is forced to play a dangerous game of cat and mouse in a violent bank robbery that he soon finds out is being led by his estranged brother (Quintin “Rampage” Jackson). Jai White is cool and charismatic as usual but he’s handcuffed by a routine story and direction. Big twist in the final third is both obvious and ridiculous. Tom Berenger picks up a couple of extra bucks and sleepwalks his way through a supporting role as one of White’s superiors. Continue reading →
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