March 30, 2019 “A Vigilante” (*1/2 out of four) was a grindingly unpleasant and tedious death-wish pulp thriller about a former abuse victim (Olivia Wilde) who takes it upon herself to help victims seek refuge and retribution against their assailants but soon finds that both her past and the law are catching up to her. Potentially juicy revenge thriller is undone by molasses pacing and meaningless and artless directorial touches that can’t decide whether to make this a shoot-em-up or a dramatic statement about violence and relationships. Wilde is terrific as usual but this muddled clunker is a poor showcase for her. Second half- source of the film’s title- is particularly tough to endure. Continue reading →
March 30, 2019 “The Highwaymen” (**1/2 out of four) was a richly told but hollow crime melodrama set in the 1930’s in which two over-the-hill and retired law officers (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson) agreed to team up and come out of retirement to go on a highway expedition to apprehend the notorious criminals Bonnie & Clyde and faced roadblocks almost every step of the way but never gave up their determination and ended up eventually put an end to their criminal career. Film is beautifully shot, well-acted, and has a stirring music score by Thomas Newman but story lags after a while and goes on so long at over two hours that it starts to lose its dramatic thrust and interest. A good showcase and teaming for both Costner and Harrelson but would have been tighter and stronger with more trimming. Continue reading →
March 29, 2019 “The Generator” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary/sleazy sci/fi melodrama about a crazed scientist (Tommie Grabiec) who discovers that he can achieve human emotions by connecting himself to a computer server and attempts to expand this to mind control but two determined subjects (Leanne Courtney and Wesley Forke) attempt to thwart him by playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse within the virtual world. Or something like that. Unpleasant and uninvolving story fails to “generate” much emotion of its own and comes up empty on sparks or thrills. “The Matrix” more-or-less told this same story on a much grander scale almost exactly two decades ago. Continue reading →
March 27, 2019 “Flashout” (*1/2 out of four) was an incredibly dumb sci/fi yarn set inside a space habitat in a parallel universe in which three young women (Lorynn York, Allison Dunbar, Maya Stojan) play a blind date reality game (!) called “Flashout” but soon unexpectedly find themselves trapped on Earth seeking the missing player of their game. Oh- did I forget to mention that they are pursued by a Reality Repairman (Jonathan Goldstein) whose assignment is to seal the hole between realities so they cannot return home? Never boring but story is senseless and silly and is best left for “Buffy- The Vampire Slayer” fans or kids with low attention spans. Director Richard Lerner is amazingly the same guy who directed the great 1986 documentary “What Happened To Kerouac?”. Continue reading →
March 27, 2019 “Mercy Black” (*1/2 out of four) was a ponderous horror movie about a young girl (Daniella PIneda) who is returning home after 15 years from a psychiatric facility after stabbing a classmate and attempting to conjure the title spirit but upon returning home, she finds the spirit is very much alive and well and wants to kill her once and for all. Good atmosphere is just about all this thriller has going out for it, as story goes nowhere and takes its slow time getting there. Janeane Garaofalo is wasted in a minor role as a doctor at the facility Continue reading →
March 25, 2019 “The Devil’s Restaurant” (*1/2 out of four) was a crude and silly horror comedy about a young restaurant owner (Mark Robert Turner) who makes a deal with the Devil who will lure patrons to his restaurant but the owner has to feed some patrons to the Devil in return. Once the busboy and others find out, all Hell begins breaking loose. Potentially funny story of consumerism and greed is undone by dumb writing and staging and thus runs out of steam very fast. Similar in some ways to the cult breakthrough “Blood Diner” but not as stylish or fun. Continue reading →
March 24, 2019 “Dragged Across Concrete” (*1/2 out of four) was an impenetratable underworld melodrama about two overzealous cops (Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn) who are suspended from the force and are in turn forced to become involved in the criminal underworld to stay afloat and make ends meet and they end up in a battle with a deadly criminal (MIchael Jai White) as they find their careers and lives in the crossfire. Impossibly long and leaden story moves like molasses at times and provides few sparks and thrills, and a waste of a strong cast. Not all that different from the Tupac/James Belushi thriller “Gang Related” which was meaner and (much) leaner. Many critics praised this film but I’m not one of them. Continue reading →
March 23, 2019 “A Dog’s Way Home” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately likeable story about a female dog named Bella (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) who is separated from her owner and begins a 400 mile trek to return home and find him and befriends a mountain lion cub along the way. May remind viewers a bit much of “Far From Home” and (especially) “The Incredible Journey” but the dog is adorable and film features plenty of beautiful scenery. No great shakes but a perfect film for family entertainment. Continue reading →
March 23, 2019 “Abduction” (**1/2 out of four) was a decent action flick about a man (Scott Adkins) who awakens in Vietnam with no memories of who he is or how he got there and is then pursued to the death by various underworld killers as he tries to stay alive and simultaneously piece together things from his past. Kinetic action yarn is packed with cool martial arts and hand-to-hand combat but story becomes overly routine and mechanical after a while. Adkins’ typically one-note acting range is actually put to good use here. No relation byetheway to the 2011 Taylor Lautner movie of the same name. Continue reading →
March 23, 2019 “Night” (0 stars out of four) was a simply unwatchable melodrama about a young girl (Alexis Beacher) who is kidnapped by a deranged nutjob (Nicholas Michael Jacobs) who forces her to be the star of his sick and twisted live stream in which he gradually tortures her (and the audience). Don’t look for more plot than that or anything else. Star/writer/director/producer Jacobs bears almost all the blame for this claustrophobic and sickening film. Even at a little more than an hour, this still feels like miserable torture. Continue reading →
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