November 14, 2018 “Alpha Wolf” (*1/2 out of four) an utterly stupid horror thriller about a couple (Casper Van Dien and Jennifer Wenger) who go for a vacation in the countryside and are attacked by a mysterious wolf that leads to him transforming into one himself who preys the countryside after hours for innocent victims. Badly acted and directed and doesn’t even feature much werewolf action or horror. Sci/fi fans will note that this reunites Van Dien with Patrick Muldoon from “Starship Troopers” but other fans will note how much this rips off “The Howling.” Continue reading →
November 13, 2018 “The Girl In The Spider’s Web” (*** out of four) was a wicked second chapter in the “Millenium” film series starring Claire Foy in the title role as a young computer hacker who represses a lifetime of severe emotional and sexual trauma and teams up with a journalist (Sverrir Gudnason) to uncover a dark web of spies and cyberhackers which leads to a multitude of corruption within the government. Director Fede Alvarez ably duplicates David Fincher’s fever-dream intensity from the last entry and intoxicates you with dazzling imagery and nerve-wracking action scenes even though the underlying story is pretty thin. Foy is strong in the lead role, taking over from Rooney Mara. Continue reading →
November 12, 2018 “Prescription For Danger” (** out of four) was a hollow medical melodrama about a young successful business owner (Joanne Kelly) who is suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumor and begins seeing a shady doctor (Shaun Benson) who supplies her with illegal but effective prescription drugs and they soon become romantically involved but she (finally) begins to realize that there may be more to this guy than meets the eye. Intriguing initially and conveys some palpable terrors of a sudden life-threatening diagnosis but plot twists are obvious and predictable and story becomes pretty ridiculous in the second half. Thriller fans would best seek a prescription for something else instead. Continue reading →
November 11, 2018 “Tiger” (** out of four) was a middling sports melodrama about a Sikh boxer (Prem Singh) who tries to fight his way up through the ranks but finds that he has a terrifying showdown with an obnoxious boxing champion (Michael Pugliese) and an even more personal showdown in court to stand up for his religious beliefs when he is banned by the boxing commission. Yet another “Rocky” wannabe that can’t come close to the passion and grit of the original (or its sequels) although Mickey Rourke adds some flavor as Singh’s hard-edged trainer. Pertinent themes of religion and racism are handled with kid gloves and boxing scenes are perfunctory. Continue reading →
November 11, 2018 “Assassins Revenge” (* out of four) was an abysmal potboiler about an NYPD cop (Michael Madsen) who becomes tired of the injustice and corruption on the streets of NYC and becomes a vigilante intent on taking down the evil mayor (Patrick Bergin) and restoring order to society. Completely inept mess rips off both “Max Payne” and “The Spirit” in equal measure right down to incoherent comic-book chapter interludes which add nothing. It’s depressing to see one-time great character actors Madsen and Bergin stuck in this schlock. Continue reading →
November 11, 2018 “Backfire” (** out of four) was a murky ghetto underworld action melodrama about a Philadelphia gun-runner (Black Deniro who also co-wrote the script) who has to outsmart both the mob, the police, and his underworld rivals to stay alive after a botched robbery escalates to murder. Neither the best nor worst of its kind, and features enough firepower and action to remain watchable, but you’ve seen it all before and done better so many times before. Too many characters and subplots to keep track of although at least it moves fast. Continue reading →
November 11, 2018 “Overlord” (** out of four) was an overstuffed hodgepodge about a rogue squad of American soldiers (Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Bokeem Woodbine, and others) in WWII who fall behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day and discover vicious and violent experiments that Nazis are performing and they must struggle to protect each other and escape. Lumpy mix of horror, sci/fi, and WWII melodrama has some good individual scenes and scares that don’t cohere into a satisfying whole. Woodbine is wasted as the boy’s tough sergeant. Produced by J.J. Abrams but lacking his usual Spielberg-grandeur and imagination. Continue reading →
November 10, 2018 “Death House” (*1/2 out of four) was a forgettable horror pic about two federal agents (Cody Longo and Cortney Palm) who investigate a secret prison known as the Death House in which they have to face a labyrinth of horrors while simultaneously being pursued by inmates and they have to struggle to regain their sanity and try to survive. Collection of long-lost ’80’s horror stars (Adrienne Barbeau, Tony Moran, Kane Hodder, Dee Wallace, Bill Moseley) adds up to absolutely nothing as story becomes incoherent and senseless. Original Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen was one of film’s co-writers but he would have served himself and the audience better by putting a chainsaw to this film’s script. Continue reading →
November 10, 2018 “Mean Queen” (*1/2 out of four) was a dumb, derivative teen melodrama about a teacher (Zoe McLellan) and her daughter (Niya Roam) who try to move on after a difficult year but mom becomes concerned when her daughter soon becomes friends with the school’s resident mean girl (Allie Macdonald) who they realize has a vindictive and murderous streak and will stop at nothing to become the school’s prom queen. Unfortunately, neither Regina George nor Gretchen Weiner showed up to salvage this mess and show them what being a mean girl is all about. Unusually mean-spirited film more than lives up to its title but is defeated by unlikeable characters and overall lack of logic. Continue reading →
November 9, 2018 “The Ranger” (*1/2 out of four) was a shoddy, silly horror thriller about a group of teen punks (Chloe Levine, Granit Lahu, Bubba Weiler, and others) on the run from the cops who hide out in the local woods but are stalked to the death by a berserk park ranger (Jeremy Holm) with more than a few axes to grind. Utterly by-the-numbers horror programmer without any style or conviction, not to mention any scares. Holm seems to be having fun in the title role but most other cast members you’ll be waiting to die. Continue reading →
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