October 19, 2018 “Death Kiss” (** out of four) was a thinly done gloss on the classic “Death Wish” about a vigilante (Robert Kovacs) with a mysterious past who moves to a city infested with crime and seeks to protect a young mother (Eva Hamilton) and her daughter by taking the law into his own hands and killing a gang (led by Richard Tyson) who are preying the streets. Kovacs’ startling resemblance to the deceased Charles Bronson is absolutely eerie at times and makes this worth watching for a few minutes but everything else about his performance is deceased as well. A few good vigilante kills give this some style but it’s still pretty low-rent and underdone. Not as powerful or entertaining as Eli Roth’s recent “Death Wish” remake but about on par with most of Bronson’s “Death Wish” sequels from the 80’s. Continue reading →
October 19, 2018 “Paranormal Highway” (*1/2 out of four)- and how’s that for an original title- was a highway to Hell about a college team and their coaches (Roger Floyd, Sean Heslep, Trini Kirtsey, and others) who embark on a three-day busride in which they are all besieged by a mysterious and mesmeric force that kills them one by one. Utterly by-the-numbers timewaster is a series of ideas borrowed from other and better movies (“Paranormal Activity” being one of them if you couldn’t guess). Three directors are credited with this. Continue reading →
October 18, 2018 “Johnny Gruesome” (*1/2 out of four) was a muddled teen horror mess about a rebellious high-schooler (Anthony De La Torre) who is murdered but returns from the grave to wreak havoc and seek vengeance on his murderers and still finish out the fun times he wasn’t able to complete in high school. Attempts to mix a horror movie with a John Hughes-like teen melodrama simply doesn’t have the conviction or intelligence to work and wears out after a while. Director/writer Gregory Lamberson adapted his own award-winning novel but viewers may be better off watching Mickey Rourke’s “Johnny Handsome” instead. Continue reading →
October 17, 2018 “Afraid” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring horror thriller about a couple (Alanna Masterson and George Byrne) who take a weekend retreat at a cabin but soon find that the sinister owner of the cabin is watching their every move. Made from the creator (Jason Goldberg) of “Punk’d” but who seems to have ripped off “Paranormal Activity” and “Sliver” in equal measure. Almost completely bereft of any scares or energy. Continue reading →
October 16, 2018 “The Surrogate” (*1/2 out of four) was a thoroughly predictable thriller in which a married couple (Brian Ames and Kelly Thiebaud) discover all-too-late that the surrogate parent (Jaclyn Hales) of their child is a serious sicko who wants to kidnap the child and will stop at nothing to raise her as her own. Viewers can easily watch the trailer and basically guess the entire movie; come to think of it, viewers could easily watch “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” for a much better version of a similar story. By the way, this is not a remake of the 1984 trash classic of the same name with Shannon Tweed. Continue reading →
October 16, 2018 “Bonehill Road” (*1/2 out of four) was a boneheaded horror movie about a mother and daughter (Ana Rojas-Plumberg and Eli DeGeer) who escape a violent domestic relationship but are chased to the death by a mysterious creature into a house in which they are plunged into a nightmarish scenario even worse than the one they just escaped. Speaking of escape, viewers will likely want to escape this mess in at least a half-hour. One time B-movie horror Linnea Quigley siren has a minor role but this movie just isn’t up to the eloquence or intelligence of “Return Of The Living Dead.” Continue reading →
October 15, 2018 “55 Steps” (** out of four) was an earnest but superficial drama about a dedicated lawyer (Hillary Swank) who takes on a new patient (Helena Bonham Carter) in the psychiatric unit of a hospital to ensure improvement in the quality of lives of mental health patients and the two form an unexpected bond and friendship that changes both of their lives. Never as powerful or compelling as it could have- and should have been- with only the two strong performances from the charismatic leads to hold your attention and keep this watchable. A disappointment from Danish director Bille August who directed the 1998 version of “Les Miserables.” Continue reading →
October 14, 2018 “First Man” (*** out of four) was an absorbing and ambitious biographical drama about the astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) who overcame incredible odds and led a dangerous American expedition into space and became the first human being to set foot on the moon. Not a great film, as some critics have said, but rich in period detail and human feeling and anchored by Gosling’s quietly powerful performance. Similar in many ways in character and structure to “Apollo 13” although lacking some of that film’s fire and fear. Continue reading →
October 14, 2018 “Bad Times At The El Royale” (*1/2 out of four) was an aptly titled fiasco about seven strangers (Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, and others) who all converge at a rundown Las Vegas motel where their secrets unfold over one dark and rainy night into collective consequences that could lead them all to Hell. Heavy on style but everything else about it is heavy also and it grows increasingly weird and off-putting and goes on forever at two-hours plus. Inspired/ripped-off from works of The Coen Bros. and David Lynch and also James Mangold’s “Identity.” Despite the impressive cast, only Johnson makes an impression. Continue reading →
October 13, 2018 “Tales Of Fear” (* out of four) was a dreadful horror anthology of six different stories that makes one nostalgic for “Tales From The Darkside” or “Creepshow”; teenagers party in the graveyard at night, a nosey woman thinks her neighbor is up to no good, a child murderer abducts 2 kids who turn the tables on him, bank robbers seek refuge, etc. None are worth listening to. Alternately disgusting, dumb, and dull and sometimes all three at once. Anyone seeking “fear” or even entertainment will be sorely disappointed. Film simply stops rather than ends, if you actually make it that far. Continue reading →
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