April 25, 2018 “Batman Ninja” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently entertaining animated feature in which Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) and many of his allies and adversaries are transplanted to feudal Japan where his rivalry with the Joker (voiced by Tony Hale) is reignited. Animation ranges from amateurish to colorful and striking but the story gets too lumpy. Highlight is a final action fight between Batman and Joker involving Japanese samurai. Continue reading →
April 24, 2018April 24, 2018 “Confessions Of A Teenage Jesus Jerk” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless comedy about a rebellious teenager (Sasha Feldman) coming of age and discovering many things (masturbation, sex, etc.) that his religious upbringing and family frown upon. Hard to believe that such a cornball script and story could be made in 2018 but seeing is believing. An inauspicious directing debut for noted character actor Eric Stoltz. For no particular reason, this is set in the ’80’s. For no particular reason should you see the movie either. Continue reading →
April 23, 2018 “Avicii: True Stories” (*** out of four) was a powerful documentary of Tim Bergling who rose to prominence as a revolutionary DJ Avicii who took the pop and electronic world by storm but was overwhelmed by the pressures and temptations of success and fame and succumbed to health problems. A very poignant and often sad look at a shy young man who achieved the success he always wanted which later claimed his life. Made interestingly before he died so this film does not cover his death but features plenty of electric concert footage and music and in-depth interviews. Continue reading →
April 23, 2018 “Tempus Tormentum” (0 stars out of four) was a jaw-droppingly inept horror show that looks like it was filmed on someone’s camcorder or cell-phone. A drifter (Dan Grapko) passing through a small town is drugged by three masked psychopaths for reasons known only to them and then is chased in an interminable game of cat and mouse until he puts them (and the audience) out of their misery. Unspeakably awful production and acting make this a real laugh riot but unfortunately this isn’t meant as a comedy. The kind of movie that Ed Wood might have made had he been alive today. Continue reading →
April 22, 2018 “Pass Over” (** out of four) was a tiresome photographed play about two young men (Jon Michael Hill and Julian Parker) who talk about their no-way-out despair in life as they try to escape a life of racism and poverty. Well-intentioned effort by director Spike Lee but it’s neither funny enough, compelling enough, or raw enough to capture your interest and even at only a little over an hour- it starts to grow monotonous. Lee fans should pass this one over and go back and watch “Get On The Bus”, “Do The Right Thing”, or “Clockers” to see his more incendiary work. Continue reading →
April 21, 2018 “Truth Or Dare” (*1/2 out of four) was a silly teen horror thriller about a group of friends (Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane) who play a game of truth or dare and seemingly unleash an evil force that punishes those who tell a lie or refuse the dare. Or something like that. One-note movie runs out of steam (and scares) pretty quickly and goes on way too long. No relation to the Madonna movie of the same name but owes more than a bit to “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Continue reading →
April 21, 2018 “Beirut” (**1/2 out of four) was a well-made but empty melodrama about a CIA operative (Jon Hamm) who is sent into Beirut to negotiate with terrorists in the midst of a civil war to bring back a friend being held hostage who he left behind. Intriguing and compelling for a while but story never shifts into high-grade and takes off. Remains watchable due to good production, striking music score from John Dempsey, and good supporting work from Rosamund Pike. Written by Tony Gilroy but this cannot measure up to his “Bourne” movies which this often recalls. Continue reading →
April 21, 2018 “Corbin Nash” (*1/2 out of four) was an extremely weird vampire/horror/underworld thriller about a rogue detective (Dean S. Jagger) whose obsessive search for his parents’ killers leads him to a pair of vampires (Corey Feldman and Richard Wagner) who turn him into a monstrous killing machine. With Feldman as a cross-dressing vampire and Malcolm McDowell as an elderly blind psychic, don’t be expecting “Interview With The Vampire” or even “Underworld” for that matter. Flashy but often incoherent and always bizarre. Continue reading →
April 21, 2018 “Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell” (*1/2 out of four) was a crude, stupid sequel in this now tired series showing the redneck warrior Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and his none-too-bright son (Jamie Kennedy) at a remote and frozen research station where they must go up against more of the ugly worms who have now been converted into dangerous weapons. Sixth and least of this series that began back in 1990 has Gross’ enthusiasm but that’s it. Whereas the original was fresh and fun, this one is silly and routine and running on the desperate fumes from the first one. It should be a cold day in hell before they make any more entries. Continue reading →
April 20, 2018 “The Last Hope” (** out of four) was a watchable but utterly derivative end-of-the-world horror thriller about a worldwide virus that has threatened apocalypse now. Australia remains the one country that has been secure through a brutal border protection policy but they in turn become threatened when one visitor (Leigh Hornsby) gets through and the virus begins to spread. Umpteenth story about viruses, cures, and the military makes you wonder what horror filmmakers would have done had “28 Days Later” never been made. At least it moves fast and features the requisite amount of gore and action but still let’s hope this is “the last” of this dreck. Continue reading →
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