August 24, 2019 “Tone Deaf” (* out of four) was a blindingly awful horror thriller about a woman (Amanda Crew) who recently loses her job and her relationship and goes for a vacation in the countryside and rents her house from a lonely widower (Robert Patrick) who- to the surprise of no one- turns out to be a serious sicko and she realizes her life is in danger. Patrick is always an entertaining villain but film is laughably obvious and solemn and close to worthless. Unfortunately, it’s direct-to-DVD dreck like this that terminated his chances at stardom. Continue reading →
August 24, 2019 “Ode To Joy” (** out of four) was an artificial romantic comedy about a librarian (Martin Freeman) who is born with a rare neurological disorder in which strong emotions, particularly joy, make him faint. This becomes a problem when he meets a girl (Morena Baccarin) and falls in love and begins experiencing joy all the time. Viewers who make it to the end likely won’t be able to identify with him because there’s very little joy (and laughs) in this contrived comedy. Good performances (especially Freeman) keep this on track for a little while but are unable to enrich the screenplay and story. Continue reading →
August 24, 2019 “Defiant” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless melodrama about an amnesiac soldier (Luke Krist) who is framed for the murder of the Sovereign Leader Of The New World and has to try and stay alive and re-connect with his family and try to unravel the conspiracy and find out who the real murderers are. Hokey rehash of “Bourne” themes and story elements but offensively (and exploitively) throws in elements of PTSD and mental health that it doesn’t have the conviction to explore. Krist is blank in the lead role and presumably only got the role because he’s related to the director of this trifle. Continue reading →
August 24, 2019 “Frat Pack” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismal comedy about a shy British graduate (Richard Alan Reid) who gets dragged on a road trip across America by his crazy stepbrothers into a wild night that none of them will forget. Director Michael Phillip obviously watched both “Animal House” and “The Hangover” several times but forgets that those movies were magical because of their strong scripts and characterizations instead of dumb dialogue and gross-out moments. Danny Trejo and Beveryly D’angelow must have been only cast for their name value because they appear in only a few scenes each Continue reading →
August 24, 2019 “Hot Air” (** out of four) was a tepid drama about a hot-shot radio broadcaster (Steve Coogan) whose life and his relationship with his girlfriend (Neve Campbell) is turned sideways by the arrival of his 16-year old niece (Taylor Russell) who challenges him, his show, and everything that he stands for. Nice attempt by director Frank Coraci to achieve a love story, a comedy, a reconciliation family drama, and a story about capitalism but its mild at best. Film never achieves the laughs or heart of his debut film “The Wedding Singer.” Continue reading →
August 23, 2019 “Jacob’s Ladder” (** out of four) was an unnecessary remake of the 1990 melodrama about an Afghanistan combat vet (Michael Ealy) who starts to become plagued by nightmarish hallucinations and flashbacks and tries to reconnect with his former war buddies to find out if he is losing his mind or if this other reality is really real. Much like the original- this features good performances (Ealy is strong in the lead) and some striking imagery but is depressing, unpleasant, and ugly after a while. Some interesting plot elements involving PTSD and war are carried over from the original but these have been more effectively covered in other films (“American Sniper”, “Good Kill”). Continue reading →
August 23, 2019 “Suburban Coven” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame and dull melodrama about a newlywed couple (Elle Taylor and David Ford) who suffer a traumatic accident and then enter a period of sexual dysfunction and are subsequently pulled into a dangerous game involving their mysterious new neighbors (James Burleson and Tiffany Griffin) but this puts them all in personal and psychological danger with one another. Promoted as a horror movie which it is not although the bad acting and writing gets to be pretty scary after a while. Subpar suburban psychodrama feels like reheated David Lynch from “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks” but the recipe is awfully stale by now. Continue reading →
August 23, 2019 “Angel Has Fallen” (*** out of four) was an explosive third entry in this blockbuster series about aging Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) who saves the new President (Morgan Freeman) from a deadly terrorist attack that leaves the rest of his team dead but is subsequently framed for his attempted murder and has to take it on the run to prove his innocence and uncover whose really behind this large-scale conspiracy. Action-packed story never lets up and maintains its grip and tension thanks to Butler who is superb in the lead and also a strong supporting cast, including Nick Nolte as his grizzled dad and Danny Huston in a key role as his friend. Continue reading →
August 23, 2019 “The Command” (** out of four) was a less-than-commanding submarine action drama based on the true story of the K-141 Kursky disaster in 2001 in which multiple sailors (Matthias Schoenarts, Peter Simonischeck, and others) had to fight for survival while their concerned families and commodore (Colin Firth) were stonewalled by government bucreaucracy (led by Max Von Sydow) and negligence. Interesting and gripping at first but it gradually sputters and stalls and never fully regains its dramatic interest although it remains watchable. Yet another submarine movie that falters in comparison to “Das Boot” or even “Crimson Tide.” Continue reading →
August 22, 2019 “The Chain” (** out of four) was a murky thriller about a young former doctor (John Patrick Amedori) who enlists the assistance of a suicide company for his elderly and violent father (Ray Wise) but finds that he must kill someone first and this takes its toll on his mental and psychological well-being as he decides whether to take part in this and flashes back to his difficult childhood. Well-acted but overdone and unpleasant movie full of flashbacks and repeated scenes of verbal and physical abuse. Wise is good playing more-or-less the same role he played in “Twin Peaks” but Madeline Zima and Adrienne Barbeau are wasted in minor roles. Continue reading →
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