May 31, 2020 “The Vast Of Night” (** out of four) was a vastly empty melodrama set in the 1950’s in New Mexico in which a local radio DJ (Jake Horowitz) and his switchboard operator (Sierra McCormick) discover and explore a strange local frequency that could alter their town and history as they know it. Unabashedly old-fashioned story has authentic ’50’s aura and styles and is atmospherically shot by M.I. Lettin-Menz but you soon realize that film is going nowhere and takes it sweet time getting there. Film has similar elements of “Frequency” and “The Arrival” but lacks the complexity and tension of both. Stirring music score by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer is a definite plus. Continue reading →
May 31, 2020 “7500” (**1/2 out of four) was an adequate but uninspired melodrama about a young pilot (Joseph Gordon Levitt) whose airplane is hijacked by terrorists (Omid Memar, Passar Hariky, and others) and he has to try to simultaneously survive the night, mantain his plane, and reason with the terrorists onboard so they don’t kill his crew. Nailbiting story is given a strong boost by Levitt who is fine as usual; unfortunately story never fully detonates and becomes too lumpy as it meanders towards its unsatisfying climax. Same story told more powerfully and with more cinema-verite effect in Paul Greengrass’ “United 93.” Continue reading →
May 31, 2020 “Gabriel’s Inferno” (*1/2 out of four) was a laughably solemn adaptation of Sylvain Renard’s 2011 potboiler about a morally troubled professor (Giulio Berruti) who seeks personal/religious/moral redemption by beginning a tryst with one of his students (Melanie Zannetti) and thinks this can restore balance in his life. Director Tosca Muska handsomely films and designs this melodrama but it’s all-too-obviously inspired by (and ripped off from) “50 Shades Of Grey”, right down to its molasses pace and abrupt ending. Zannetti’s strong performance is one of film’s few assets. Continue reading →
May 30, 2020 “Insight Of Evil 2: Vengeance” (* out of four) was a desperate horror mess about the survivor of the original (Tiffany Edwardsen) who returns to the scene of the crime to rid herself of the nightmarish memories of years earlier that have haunted her. Dreadful filmmaking and acting combined with complete lack of scares make this a nightmare of its own to sit through. And speaking of insight- who in God’s name decided we needed a sequel to the original over 16 years later? Continue reading →
May 30, 2020 “The Debt Collectors” (** out of four) was a proficient but pointless sequel/retread of the original about the two title collectors (Scott Adkins and Costas Mandylor) who have to return to the game chasing lowlifes for bounty money and at the same time trying to elude a vindictive crime kingpin (Vladimir Kulich). Features the requisite amount of hand-to-hand combat and gunplay scenes to satisfy fans but is overall too routine to stand out from the pack. Adkins is adequate as usual but Mandylor seems to be doing his worst imitation of Mickey Rourke. Continue reading →
May 27, 2020 “Ouija Shark” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheesy, brainless horror thriller about a group of none-too-bright teenage girls (Leslie Cserepy, Steph Goodwin, Robin Hodge, and others) who accidentally summon an ancient shark through their ouija boardgame and they have to consult with a specialist of the occult (Kylie Gough) to rid the shark once and for all. Bad acting and filmmaking is harsh enough to sit through but seeing the terrible special effects of the shark is particularly painful! It’s nearly 50 years later and the original “Jaws” easily outchews all its imitators. Continue reading →
May 26, 2020 “Celebrity Crush” (*1/2 out of four) was a sordid horror melodrama about the star of a cult-B movie in the 1980’s (Oliver Robins) who is obsessively stalked and then kidnapped by a deranged fan (Alissa Schneider) of that movie and he has to fight her to the death to escape. Writer/director/star Robins actually was the star of ’80’s horror classic “Poltergeist” but that’s too much sophisticated irony for this trashy timewaster. Schneider’s amusing performance is a plus but you may feel like taking a shower when this is over. Continue reading →
May 26, 2020 “Run” (** out of four) was a sputtering melodrama set in Fraserburgh about a former drag racer (Mark Stanley) who has settled into an adult life working at a local fish factory but still finds he has the need for speed and steals his son’s car for one final joyride and a throwback to his reckless youth. Writer-director Scott Graham uses some good soundtrack selections to buoy things up but there simply isn’t enough story to sustain a feature-length film which is probably why it’s only about an hour-and-20-minutes long. After a while, it stalls and simply “runs” on empty. Continue reading →
May 25, 2020 “Choke” (*1/2 out of four) was an incoherent psychological melodrama about the overlapping realities and intersection of the lives of a devoted psychologist (Lisa London), a brutal serial killer (Shane Ryan), and an astute young girl (Sarah Brine) when the lines between reality and fiction and good and bad appear to blur. Disheveled and cerebral story might make as much sense if you watched it backwards but film is so mean-spirited and unpleasant it’s not worth the bother. Unsatisfying and abrupt ending is a further nail in the coffin. Continue reading →
May 25, 2020 “Return Of The Tooth Fairy” (*1/2 out of four) was a toothless sequel set 15 years later about the now grown-up main character (Jake Watkins) from the first movie who attends a class reunion which is crashed by (you guessed it) the murderous tooth fairy who stalks him and his classmates to the death. Yet another sequel that virtually no one was waiting for or demanding and will hardly feel like a gift under anybody’s pillow. Film begins passably but soon sags right when The Tooth Fairy comes alive when it ought to be taking off. Floss your teeth or visit your dentist instead. Continue reading →
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