August 26, 2018 “Making A Killing” (* out of four) was a dreadful melodrama which does nothing but kill your time and patience. Two brothers (Mike Starr and Jude Moran) who are morticians and priests (!) become involved in a web of deceit and greed when a local senior citizen (Christopher Lloyd) is murdered and an investigator (Michael Jai White) starts snooping around to uncover the truth. Lifeless movie goes nowhere for nearly two hours. Jai White is miscast and the rest of the supporting cast (including Aida Turturro and Sally Kirkland) are wasted. Based on a true story but that doesn’t make it anymore watchable or believable. Continue reading →
August 26, 2018August 26, 2018 “Blue Iguana” (**1/2 out of four) was a generally uneven black comedy about a pair of dim-witted criminals (Sam Rockwell and Ben Schwartz) who are approached by a lawyer (Phoebe Cox) to take part in underworld crime but naturally things don’t go as planned and mayhem ensues. Funny and stylish at first but script has its ups-and-downs and eventually runs out of steam. Rockwell’s typically strong performance helps keep this watchable. Odd choice of soundtrack selections in certain violent scenes. Incidentally- this is not a remake of the 1988 Dylan McDermott melodrama of the same name Continue reading →
August 26, 2018 “The Happytime Murders” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately amusing black comedy set in a world in which puppets and humans co-exist and a disgraced former cop and puppet (voiced by Bill Barretta) must re-team up with his former partner who is still a detective (Melissa McCarthy) to solve a series of murders when the former cast of a puppets television show begin getting killed one by one. Raunchy comedy directed by Brian Henson (son of Jim Henson who was the Muppets creator) is fast-paced and entertaining although not quite as hilarious as you might hope. McCarthy is good and seems to be more-or-less playing the same role she did in “The Heat.” Continue reading →
August 26, 2018 “Summer Of ’84” (*** out of four) was a stirring melodrama set in the 1984 summer in which a group of kids (Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, and Cory Gruter-Andrew) begin to suspect that their police officer neighbor (Rich Sommer) is a murderer and they attempt to snoop and gather information on him which brings them increasingly closer to danger and adulthood than they imagined. Cross-pollination of “Stand By Me” and “Disturbia” is well-observed and engrossing. Most importantly, all of the kids are very likeable and have terrific chemistry and camaraderie together. Continue reading →
August 26, 2018 “Ouija House” (*1/2 out of four) was a routine horror show about a graduate student (Mischa Barton) trying to work on a research project to help her ailing mom (Dee Wallace) and brings friends to a house with a mysterious past and they find they accidentally summon (yawn) an evil spirit that wreaks havoc. “Witchboard” told more-or-less the same story in 1987 with much more scares and style which the shows the progress (or lack thereof) that horror movies have made in the last 30 years. One-time horror movie screamer Wallace is howlingly wasted Continue reading →
August 25, 2018 “Killer Twin” (*1/2 out of four) was a killer mistake about two twin sisters separated at birth (both played by Lindsay Hartley) and one who finds the other and sees she will literally kill for her identity and her life. Hartley is good in a dual role but plotholes and contrivances abound and make you wish they may have stayed separated. For a more intricate and complex look at the same subject, watch “Brothers” or “Single White Female” instead. Continue reading →
August 22, 2018 “A Thought Of Ecstasy” (* out of four) was a terminally weird melodrama set in the year 2019 in which America is paralyzed by sweltering heat and political paranoia and a man (Rolf Peter Kahl) is looking for his lost love who got away and a woman (Deborah Kara Unger) is out for revenge and other swell folks around them become lost in sadomasochism as a way to forget about the world’s problems (and the audience’s). Although a solid character actor, writer/director/star/co-producer Kahl bears most of the blame for this nearly unwatchable film. Film features some graphic sex scenes but otherwise you have been warned. Continue reading →
August 22, 2018 “Just Our Luck” (* out of four) was a just-awful romantic comedy about three friends (Sarah Jayne Rothkopf, Sara Michal, Kelsey Hewitt) who search for companionship and fulfillment in men and can never seem to find it and pretty early on, you can more than understand why. Pointless and bizarre adult story plays like a porn movie without any sex! Terrible filmmaking and acting make this a real howler at times. Sole cast survivor is Hewitt but with any luck- she’ll have moved on from this dreck Continue reading →
August 21, 2018 “Charismata” (*** out of four) was a hypnotic and eerie psychological thriller about a veteran police detective (Sarah Beck Mather) whose sanity becomes to unravel as she begins to combat various mental health disorders when investigating a brutal series of murders which she is determined to uncover. Finely made story takes its grip from Mather’s understated but powerful performance and holds you in its spell with striking cinematography and a sharp screenplay by directors Andy Collier and Toor Mian. Starts to wane in the final third and is marred by an abrupt conclusion but still definitely worthwhile. Continue reading →
August 21, 2018 “The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time” (** out of four) was a breathless but brainless hopeful final entry in this endless series showing the last adventures of Fin (Ian Zierring) who has to go back in time to rejoin his friends (Viviva A. Fox, Cassandra Scerbo, Tara Reid) to prevent the first Sharknado and save the world. Packed with the series’ usual nonsensical action and features some impressive special effects which may make it watchable for fans; others will find it wearying and dumb. Amusing collection of long-lost cast members from the ’80’s and ’90’s. Twisted Sister lead Dee Snider has a key role as a sheriff and yes he does get to say the line “I’m not going to take it anymore.” Continue reading →
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