August 21, 2019 “Desperate Cowboys” (** out of four) was a lurid melodrama about a dying attorney (George Avgoustis) who turns to his son (Carter Burch) to commit a robbery in an attempt to save his life which naturally goes horribly wrong and a relentless bail bondsman (Scott Lucas) and a homicidal bounty hunter/cowboy (Kevin Hartzman) become involved and all of their lives become in a bloody crossfire. By the standards of these Tarantino/Coen Bros/Michael Mann imitations, this isn’t bad and is lifted above the routine by good acting and storytelling, but its hindered by low-budget production values and its sleaze and amorality leave a bad taste after a while. Continue reading →
August 21, 2019 “Low Low” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretentious and exploitive teenage melodrama about four high-school girls (Dominique Columbus, Brie Mattson, Elaine Hendrix, Emmy Newman) on their last day of summer who ponder their lives full of sex, violence, and partying and their uncertain future and the moral and personal crossroads they are at in life with adulthood right around the corner. Nondescript film has little to recommend it, even for fans of violence and sex. “Kids” more-or-less told the same story with a lot more grit and style more than 20 years ago. Continue reading →
August 21, 2019 “Don’t Leave Home” (* out of four) was an indescribably dull horror show about an American artist (Anna Marget Hollyman) who ventures to Ireland to learn more about the origins of an urban legend at a crumbling estate but (to the surprise of no one) the legend is alive and well and all Hell subsequently breaks loose. In-name only horror movie has no horror and no scares and is an absolute bore. Even the Ireland scenery looks dreary and ugly. Hollyman’s sincere performance is utterly wasted. “Don’t Watch” would be a much more apt title for this clunker. Continue reading →
August 20, 2019 “Alcatraz” (* out of four) was a dreadful prison melodrama that holds the audience hostage with cheap production values and terrible acting; on the infamous Alcatraz Island, a group of prisoners (Gareth Lawrence, Mark Homer, Lee Bane, and others) attempt to escape all while ruminating the difficulties and emotional pain of being incarcerated and without freedom. This garish time-waster plays like a low-budget rip-off of “The Shawshank Redemption” but (to put it mildly) these guys don’t have the expansive thespianism of Tim Robbins or Morgan Freeman. Continue reading →
August 20, 2019 “Hoax” (* out of four) was an aptly titled fiasco about an investigative team (Brian Thompson, Ben Browder, Cheryl Texiera, and others) who travel deep into the Colorado wilderness to unravel a series of gruesome murders and come to realize that the vicious beast that may be out on the prowl may be Bigfoot. Unfortunately, Bigfoot turns out to be a large guy in a very bad animal suit. Unbearable horror show is a real snooze. Adrienne Barbeau shows up for all of one scene but it’s movies like these that have kept her career in a real fog. Continue reading →
August 20, 2019 “22 Chaser” (**1/2 out of four) was a feverish melodrama set in L.A. in which an honest and hard-working tow-truck driver (Brian J. Smith) battles with various other drivers and underworld figures and crooked cops (Aaron Ashmore, John Kapelos, and others) in trying to survive on the road and provide for his family but he finds out it’s a really ugly world to be making a living. Not much of a dramatic payoff or even plot but film is well-observed and well-made and holds you in its power with its violence and constant atmosphere of uneasy tension. Strong performance from Smith in the lead makes this imperfect movie worth chasing. Continue reading →
August 20, 2019 “Seaside” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster thriller about a young woman (Arianna DeBose) who leaves home and moves to the Oregon Coast with her mysterious boyfriend (Matt Shingledecker) but soon finds that there is more to him than meets the eye and that he hasn’t been honest about his past of which they have a lurid connection. Stark and moody cinematography from Phillip A. Anderson keeps you watching for a few scenes but story meanders and is inert and you eventually lose interest. Even a key plot twist at the end is extremely subdued. Continue reading →
August 20, 2019 “Demon Hole” (* out of four) was a demonically awful horror show about a fracking crew (Samantha Scaffidi, Samhain, Paris Campbell, and others) who drill on sacred Native American land and unleash an ancient demon which causes all Hell to break loose and them to re-think their fracking but don’t expect Rex Tillerson or Steve Schlotterbeck to show up and make an appearance here. The seriousness of fracking and its consequences eludes the makers of this mess and film doesn’t so much end as stop. Low-rent, in every sense of the term. Continue reading →
August 19, 2019 “3 Lives” (*1/2 out of four) was a graceless action thriller about a woman (Mhairi Calvey) on the run from ruthless kidnappers (Anatole Taubman, Victor Alfieri, Pete Riley) in a wild jungle and soon discovers that the man who has rescued her (Tyrone Ricketts) is the same man who was jailed for attacking her 15 years earlier and she has to decide whether to trust him or run away on her own! Potent and potentially intriguing storyline is undone by dull characters and lack of suspense and tension. You know a movie called “3 Lives” is in trouble when you don’t care about any 1 of them. Continue reading →
August 19, 2019 “Zombie Tidal Wave” (*** out of four) was a proficient horror thriller about a fisherman (Ian Ziering) who realizes it’s apocalypse now when the title tidal wave arrives in his seaside island community and threatens all of its inhabitants. Just when you may have thought you never wanted to see another killer zombie/living dead/”Resident Evil” movie, this movie shows you how it should be done; it has plenty of blood-splattering effects, it has some tongue-in-cheek laughs, and (most importantly) it never stops moving. Somewhere, George Romero is looking down and smiling. Continue reading →
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