April 7, 2018 “Acrimony” (** out of four) was a predictable thriller about a devoted wife (Taraji Henson) who becomes enraged and eventually unhinged when she is betrayed by her lying and manipulative husband (Lyriq Bent). Director Tyler Perry’s gloss on “Fatal Attraction” is tepid at best but Henson gives this a boost as usual. Final third (source of the film’s title) is especially screwy and hard to believe. Continue reading →
April 7, 2018 “A Quiet Place” (*1/2 out of four) was a lifeless thriller about a family (Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds) who live in the woods in silence and hiding from mysterious creatures who hunt by sound. No one could accuse the filmmakers of deception in advertising because my God this movie is quiet (the entire film has virtually no dialogue) and, as a result, also forgettable and boring. A particular waste of Blunt who is given nothing to do. Some striking shots of upstate NY (it was filmed mostly in Herkimer and Ulster County) are film’s only virtues. Continue reading →
April 6, 2018 “American Bred” (** out of four) was a stale underworld melodrama set in Detroit in which one crime-syndicate family (Michael Lerner, Eva Tamargo, Andy Martin, Jesse Staccato) becomes unraveled by greed, jealousy, lust, and betrayal and they realize they have to set aside their differences and band together if they want to survive. Sleek cinematography and lots of violent action do their best to enliven tired and familiar storyline. This is the kind of movie Martin Scorcese and Brian De Palma could easily have made in their sleep. Continue reading →
April 5, 2018 “Toy Gun” (**1/2 out of four) was a scattershot but entertaining black comedy about a down-on-his-luck loser (Luke Allen Gale) who robs a bank with the title toy gun and seeks refuge and advice from his wisened neighbor (Anthony LaPaglia) while a burned-out police detective (Julian Sands) and the weaselly bank manager (John Hannah) are on his trail. Good cast and storytelling keep you watching as film bounces between dark comedy and an underworld melodrama but it never quite takes flight. Similar in style and story elements to Guy Ritchie’s “Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch”. Continue reading →
April 4, 2018 “Relentless” (** out of four) was an earnest but empty melodrama about an American mother (Lauren Shaw) who searches for her daughter who was kidnapped by sex traffickers in Central America and turns to a local bounty hunter (David Castro) for help. Well-made and well-intentioned but covers awfully familiar ground about the sex-trafficking industry and never becomes fully gripping. For a more searing and powerful look at the same subject, watch last year’s “Trafficked” instead. Continue reading →
April 4, 2018 “Killing Joan” (* out of four) was a grindingly inept death-wish revenge thriller that does nothing but kill your time about a mob enforcer (Jamie Bernadette) who is double-crossed and left for dead and then enacts her revenge against the mob and those who betrayed her. Slapdash filmmaking and awful acting make this a chore to sit through and it goes on forever at nearly two hours. Strictly recommended for anyone who thought the recent “Death Wish” remake with Bruce Willis was not well-done. Continue reading →
April 3, 2018 “The Titan” (**1/2 out of four) was a diverting but derivative sci/fi melodrama about a military family (Sam Worthington and Taylor Schilling) who take part in a groundbreaking evolutionary experiment ran by a sinister army scientist (Tom Wilkinson) which naturally doesn’t go as planned. Too many ideas borrowed from other movies (“The Fly” especially) and takes too long to get going but film is creepy and stylish in parts and its unexpectedly touching final third makes this worthwhile. Worthington is first-rate as usual and has strong support from both Schilling and Wilkinson. Continue reading →
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