July 15, 2019 “Kidnapping Stella” (** out of four) was a monotonous Netflix melodrama about a young girl named Stella (Jella Haase) who is kidnapped and held for ransom by two masked men (Clemens Schick and Max von der Groeben) and finds she needs to turn the tables on them, both physically and psychologically, and pit them against one another in order to make it out alive. Analytical psychodrama about three intelligent personalities going against one another has some scares and interesting ideas that unfortunately don’t sustain a full feature film. Yet another chamber piece that owes a lot to 1998’s “Suicide Kings” and also Roman Polanski’s “Death And The Maiden.” Continue reading →
July 14, 2019 “Stuber” (*** out of four) was a wildly entertaining action comedy about a hard-boiled cop (Dave Bautista) who gets swept up in action on a new case he is working on and forces him to recruit his Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) with him (hence the movie’s title). And that’s just the beginning of the story! Tongue-in-cheek movie is full of style, action, and cockeyed humor and most importantly- never stops moving! Bautista’s typical one-note range is put to good comical use here. Mira Sorvino has a key role as his partner. Continue reading →
July 13, 2019 “Blood Paradise” (** out of four) was an odd horror story about a best-selling crime writer (Andrea Winter) who travels to the Swedish countryside for inspiration for her new novel but is beset by a series of bizarre characters and she soon realizes both her sanity and safety are at risk. Film has some touches of style and macabre wit but doesn’t congeal into a satisfying whole and never fully takes off. Winter’s strong performance in the lead holds your attention for a while. Director Patrick von Barkenberg also has a minor role as the writer’s boyfriend. Continue reading →
July 13, 2019 “Point Blank” (**1/2 out of four) was a fast-paced but uneven crime melodrama about a desperate nurse (Anthony Mackie) who teams up with an injured murder suspect (Frank Grillo) to expose rival criminals and renegade cops but all does not go as planned and the two are left in an isolated hospital to expose the villains, prove their innocence, and attempt to make it out alive. Film never quite hangs together but Mackie and Grillo’s usual strong performances and array of nonstop action may keep you entertained nonetheless.Marcia Gay Harden has a key supporting role as a cop. Continue reading →
July 13, 2019 “Crawl” (***1/2 out of four) was a white-knuckle thriller melodrama about a high-school girl (Kaya Scolderio) who attempts to risk all to save her father (Barry Pepper) during a Category-5 hurricane but soon finds herself trapped in his flooding house fighting to the death against a pair of deadly alligators who want to eat anything and everything in their path. Hold on tight! Spectacular filmmaking and visual effects plunge you right in the midst of the hurricane and the drowning house and film features plenty of hair-raising and jaggedly tense scares along the way which don’t let up until the end. Scolderio’s strong and soulful performance helps immensely. A career high for director Alexandre Aja who has made a B-movie into summer movie junk art. Bullseye! Continue reading →
July 12, 2019 “Critters Attack” (*1/2 out of four) was a strictly by-the-numbers fifth entry in this creaky series about the title critters who crashland in a small town and a determined 20-year old (Tashiana Washington) and her friends (Jaeden Noel, Jack Fulton, and others) realize they’re on the menu and try to stop them and save the world. First “Critters” entry in nearly 30 years has original star Dee Wallace for good measure but it’s really more of the same, with weak effects and bland characters. For die-hard fans of the series only who are probably the only ones who can tell any of these entries apart. Continue reading →
July 12, 2019 “13 Graves” (** out of four) was an elegant but empty horror melodrama about two mob contract killers (Kevin Leslie and Morgan James) who attempt to dispose of their latest victim in a graveyard but soon realize they are being stalked by a malevent force and (yawn) paranormal activity and they realize they have to fight together if they want to make it out alive. Good production values and filmmaking for this kind of horror trifle but story never becomes involving. Attempt to cross-pollinate an “Exorcist”-like horror story with British comic gangster dramas like “Snatch” works only in parts. Continue reading →
July 11, 2019 “Weightless” (** out of four) was a stillborn melodrama about a middle-aged loner (Alessandro Nivola) whose solitary life and existence is interrupted by the arrival of his 10-year old son (Eli Haley) who he has never met but the boy’s physical and psychological needs prove to be difficult for them both to handle. Beautifully shot by Darren Lew in Johnstown, NY and features some scattered effective moments but too morose and languid to garner any momentum or dramatic fire. Johnny Knoxville is good in an unusual role as Nivvola’s boss. Continue reading →
July 11, 2019 “Ashes” (*1/2 out of four) was an overheated horror story that will likely soon turn to dust about a large family (Damian Diaz, Elizabeth Keener, and others)who are haunted by the returning spirit of their dead aunt (Melinda DeKay) who is back for vengeance. Or something like that. This is what audiences get for having made “Paranormal Activity” a hit, all those years ago. Often hilariously solemn and really dumb and strictly for those who will rent anything from the Redbox machine. You actually may wish Ash from the “Evil Dead” series may show up but no such luck. Continue reading →
July 9, 2019 “The Dark Within” (* out of four) was an unendurable thriller about a disturbed man (Mark Wood) with various psychic and supernatural abilities who tries to unravel the disappearance of his parents and preserve his own sanity by locking himself in a cabin in the middle of the woods but things don’t go entirely as planned. Laughably dumb and over-the-top movie is loaded with flashbacks and loud shock effects but is really much ado about nothing. It’s movies like these that make you realize how much masterworks the first two “Evil Dead” movies were nearly 40 years ago! Continue reading →
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