February 12, 2018 “Faith Under Fire” (**1/2 out of four) was an earnest but superficial melodrama based on a true story about a school guidance counselor (Toni Braxton) who has to talk to and appease a deranged gunman (Trevor Morgan) who threatens and besieges her Atlanta school and their children while the police outside try to contain situation and have him killed. Braxton is good as a woman who tries to keep her cool and stay alive while facing certain death but Morgan is frustratingly one-note and so is the movie at times although it does build interest and suspense towards the end. A sincere effort from actor-director Vondie Curtis Hall but this cannot match the power or intensity of his 1996 Tupac/Tim Roth drama “Gridlock’d.” Continue reading →
February 11, 2018 “Fifty Shades Freed” (** out of four) was a not-bad third and final entry in the hugely popular series about the continuing sexual adventures of Christian (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) who get married but their happiness and prosperity is continued to be threatened by former associate Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson). Better acting and characterization from Dornan and stylish direction from director James Foley make this the best of the series although story basics are still hollow and one-note. Works best in the final third and builds to a satisfying climax for series fans. Continue reading →
February 11, 2018 “Still/Born” (** out of four) was a thoroughly routine horror show about a new mother (Christie Burke) who gives birth to twins, only one of which who lives, and she soon begins to suspect that (yawn) he has been taken over by supernatural and evil forces. Yet another rip-off of “The Shining”, “Poltergeist”, and also “The Bad Seed” which proves the scariest thing about horror movies is they seem to have run out of ideas. Competently made and acted, and not without a few scares, but completely lacking any originality. Great title though! Continue reading →
February 10, 2018 “Battlecreek” (*1/2 out of four) was a simply boring melodrama about a young man (Bill Skarsgard) with a rare skin disease who has been sheltered his entire time by his feisty mom (Paula Malcomson) but everything changes when he meets a young girl (Claire van der Boom) and falls in love for the first time. Monotonous story of first love and young angst set in small-town America; Malcomson’s sexy performance provides film’s only sparks. A disappointment from director Alison Eastwood (Clint’s daughter) which lacks fire and style. Continue reading →
February 10, 2018 “Headgame” (*1/2 out of four) was a gory, ugly horror thriller about a group of young folks (Leonard Roberts, Carly Steel, Jame Hill Fuller) who awaken inside a locked warehouse with cameras screwed into their heads (!) and soon find that they are competitors in (what else?) a deadly reality game in which they have to kill each other to survive. Umpteenth rip-off of “Saw” is only for those who thought that series was too tame and intellectual; movie also has the gall to rip off “The Hunger Games” as well. Continue reading →
February 10, 2018 “Permission” (*** out of four) was an absorbing story about a couple (Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens) on the brink of marriage who decide to have an open relationship before spending the rest of their lives with each other but this subsequently leads to their trust and emotional boundaries being shattered and in turn affects their relationship. Imperfect, with some supporting characters who seem unnecessary and throw the film off-tangent, but has enough compelling scenes and camaraderie between the two main actors to make it worthwhile. An interesting effort from writer-director Brian Crano with obvious nods at times to mid-period Woody Allen Continue reading →
February 9, 2018 “In The Cloud” (**1/2 out of four) was an imaginative futuristic thriller about a tech company (headed by Gabriel Byrne) which is developing software capable of uploading a person’s consciousness and memories to virtual space and how a group of kids (Neilish Ambu, Nora Arnezeder, James Artaius) become caught up in this rush and then try to stop it. Many interesting and compelling ideas obviously inspired by “The Matrix” and “Total Recall” and the works of Phillip K. Dick, are vividly directed by Robert Scott Wildes but it loses its way and doesn’t gell as a whole. Still worth checking out. Terrific music score by Jay Auborn and John Matthias gives this an extra pulse. Continue reading →
February 8, 2018 “Bad Apples” (*1/2 out of four) was a sour horror thriller about two homicidal kids who decide it’s unacceptable that one family in their suburban neighborhood is not celebrating Halloween and they in turn terrorize them (and the audience) with endless taunts and dumb dialogue. “Bad Movie” would have been a movie fitting title for this. Strictly amateur night in terms of filmmaking and production and without even the saving grace of humor. Continue reading →
February 7, 2018 “Victor Crowley” (*1/2 out of four) was a gruesome and dumb fourth entry in the “Hatchet” series about the resurrected Crowley (Kane Hodder) who bears a passing resemblance to Harry from “Harry And The Hendersons”; in any event, he returns to slaughter a new generation of curious fans and thrill-seekers. That doesn’t mean, however, that you in the audience have to be curious about this schlock because it has no thrills or any scares for that matter. Hodder gained fame playing Jason several times but his fame has sadly passed him by. Continue reading →
February 7, 2018 “My Friend Dahmer” (** out of four) was a perfunctory biography of Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) showing him in high school as a shy young man who struggled to belong and was beset by bullies at school and family problems at home and turned to drugs, alcohol, and later insane violence. Curiously remote and unrevealing story presents Dahmer as an outcast in the mold of “Carrie” but doesn’t tell you much about him you probably don’t already know. Performances are fairly one-note as well, much like the film itself. For a more striking and gripping film about same subject, watch 2002’s “Dahmer” with Jeremy Renner instead. Continue reading →
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