October 21, 2019 “Girls, Guns, And Blood” (* out of four) was an abysmal potboiler about several women (Cody Renee Cameron, Christine Nguyen, Cherie Deville, and others) who are robbed at their brothel in Texas by a gang of thieves posing as customers and they soon seek them out in high-speed revenge. Throwback to the trashy fun of grindhouse cinema may make you throw up instead, with its crude and stupid writing and terrible acting. With a title like that, you should know not to expect Oscar fare but it’s still pretty bottom-of-the-barrel. Continue reading →
October 21, 2019 “Kill Chain” (*** out of four) was a moody and stylish underworld thriller set in Columbia involving the intersection of the lives of a former mercenary turned club owner (Nicholas Cage), an over-the-hill hitman (Enrico Colantoni), and a woman (Anabelle Acosta) out for vengeance and how fate and violence shape their outcome. No masterwork but leagues better than most of Cage’s direct-to-DVD timewasters (“Bangkok Dangerous” comes to mind) and it’s well-directed by Ken Sanzel and tautly paced. Sanzel also wrote the sharply written screenplay. Continue reading →
October 20, 2019 “Portal” (*1/2 out of four) was a hokey supernatural thriller about a ghost hunter (Ryan Merriman) who performs a ritual to get to “the other side” but soon finds that him and his team (Jamie Tisdale, Courtney Nightingale, and others) are in over their head and their lives might be in danger. Competent direction and acting can only do so much with a ridiculous script that is often laughable. One-time scream queen Heather Langenkamp shows up in an ambiguous supporting role but I doubt this will be the “portal” to her comeback Continue reading →
October 20, 2019 “Pumpkins” (*1/2 out of four) was a by-the-numbers horror show about a group of explorers (Sarah Jayne Curry, Roland Martial, Craig Edwards, and others) in Northern England who are besieged and terrorized by “Pumpkinman” (Will Metheringham)- a deceased man who has been reincarnated with a pumpkin as his face! Strictly for horror fans who will rent anything in the Redbox machines. Even the beautiful England scenery looks dull. Continue reading →
October 19, 2019 “The Lighthouse” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring melodrama about two lighthouse keepers (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) in the 1890’s who fight for control over their lighthouse and try to maintain their sanity. If you make it to the end of this, you’ll know exactly how they feel. Incredibly dull movie has such little plot and so little happens that it’s jarring. Even Dafoe’s effortless charisma can’t breathe any life into this one. Many critics thought highly of this movie but I’m not among them. Jarin Blaschke’s striking black-and-white cinematography is film’s sole virtue. Continue reading →
October 19, 2019 “Deadcon” (** out of four) was a trifling horror thriller about a group of social media stars (Lauren Elizabeth and Claudia Sulewski) who soon find that they are endangered and being stalked by someone unknown through their various social media accounts. Thinly done horror satire about the world of social media and youth culture comes up short on both scares and laughs. Even at only 78 minutes, this starts running on empty pretty quickly. Continue reading →
October 19, 2019 “Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil” (** out of four) was an earthbound sequel to the surprise 2014 hit about Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and her goddaughter Aurora (Elle Fanning) beginning to question their complex family ties which bind them and they are subsequently pulled in different directions by the evil Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer). Full of sparkling visual effects and eye-candy cinematography but story lacks any real sense of wonder and is too lumpy. Works best in the final third which features some spectacular battle scenes. Fans of the original (I wasn’t) may like this better but this still feels like another unnecessary sequel. Continue reading →
October 19, 2019 “Trick” (** out of four) was a tiresome horror thriller about a determined detective (Omar Epps) pursuing a mass murderer named Trick who is terrorizing a small town and scaring the locals (Jamie Kennedy, Tom Atkins, and others) but he begins to realize that this killer may not be able to be stopped. Gory and stylish for a little while but then wears out as film begins to grow repetitive and loses steam. Filled with familiar faces from earlier horror classics but still not enough treats overall for horror genre fans. Continue reading →
October 19, 2019 “Gothic Harvest” (** out of four) was an undercooked Southern horror flick about four college friends (Abbie Gayle, Tanyell Waivers, Ashton Leigh, Mary Alice Risener) who head to New Orleans for some partying and vacation but they soon meet a guy (Ashley Hamilton) who is not what he seems and all goes astray. Not bad, with some good performances from the girls and a few stylish gore scenes, though it never fully rises above the routine although if you’ve ever wanted to see Bill Moseley play a hard-boiled cop- this is the movie for you. Lin Shaye chews the scenery as the matriarch of their demented family. Continue reading →
October 18, 2019 “100 Acres Of Hell” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty stupid horror pic about a former wrestler (Gene Snisky) who ventures out for a weekend with his friends (Jeff Swanton and Jim Roof) to a wildlife preserve where there they are besieged and terrorized and must fight back in order to stay alive. Standard issue stalk-and-slash fare without much originality or style. Former WWE wrestler Snisky is pretty stiff and amateurish even in playing a former pro wrestler. It’s movies like these that make you realize how much “Deliverance” (and even “Wrong Turn”) were masterworks all those years ago. Continue reading →
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