October 3, 2018 “Anne Of Green Gables: The Good Stars” (*** out of four) was a winning retelling of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s blockbuster novels which was lovingly adapted into a 1980’s series of successful television movies. This time, Anne Shirley (Ella Ballentine) begins comfortably settling in with her warm and caring aunt and uncle (Sara Botsford and Martin Sheen) while becoming a teenager for the first time and beginning her interests with friends and guys. One of the rare remakes that captures the warmth and sincerity of the original and is exceedingly well-cast in all its roles. It’s hard to forget Megan Follows from the original from Ballentine is still first-rate in the lead and Sheen is terrific as usual. Continue reading →
October 2, 2018 “Above Ground” (** out of four) was a below-average Coen Bros. imitation about a recently divorced guy (Clayne Crawford) whose boss commits murder leaving him to dispose of all the evidence and a bitter sherriff (Robert Leeshock) attempts to frame him from the murders when he finds out his former partner (M.J. Brackin) is in love with the guy. Then, a hard-nosed private investigator (Ken Hudson Campbell) attempts to sort all this out. Confusing, contrived story moves fast enough to remain watchable but viewers should save themselves the bother and watch “Blood Simple” or “Fargo” again instead. Continue reading →
October 1, 2018 “American Dresser” (**1/2 out of four) was a pleasant but pedestrian road movie about a recent widower (Tom Berenger) who sets off on a cross-country motorcycle road trip with his lifelong buddy (Keith David) to re-evaluate their lives and their pasts. Unexceptional script is made palatable and easy-to-take by good performances, and a first-rate supporting cast including Gina Gershon, Bruce Dern, Jeff Fahey, and Penelope Ann Miller. Film buffs will note that Berenger and David play Vietnam vets and both starred as soldiers in Oliver Stone’s 1986 masterwork “Platoon.” Continue reading →
October 1, 2018 “Hell Fest” (** out of four) was an utterly by-the-numbers horror show about a group of friends (Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, and Amy Forsyth) who go to a Halloween-themed amusement park where a masked killer is on the loose but naturally- everyone thinks it’s part of the show. Full of eye candy from director Gregory Plotkin and Jose David Mantero but also full of dumb dialogue and unimaginative plotting. Still, this is one of the best-looking horror movies in a while and is worth taking a glance at least for a few minutes. Continue reading →
October 1, 2018 “Jurassic Predator” (* out of four) was a jurassic dud set in England about scientists (Lee Bane, Richard Dee-Roberts, Jason Homewood, and others) working at a government research facility who use prehistoric DNA to resurrect a T-Rex. To the surprise of no one, it escapes to a nearby town and wreaks havoc leading to a violent military team called in to take it down. Routine cheapie is obviously made to cash in on both the “Jurassic World” and “Predator” series but unfortunately has little action or scares. T-Rex itself isn’t bad considering the film’s threadbare budget but is hardly in any of the movie! Continue reading →
October 1, 2018 “3” (* out of four) was a real zero about a man (Todd Bruno) and a woman (Aniela McGuinness) who kidnap a man (Mike Stanley) who raped her years earlier and attempt to extort a confession out of him and the majority of the movie consists of them tormenting him (and the audience) as we wonder whether or not he’s guilty. For anyone who ever wanted to see “Death And The Maiden” crossed with one of the “Saw” movies, look no further. For the rest of us, this is strictly for masochists and is severely unpleasant and uninvolving. Good performances are helpless with this material. Continue reading →
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