July 18, 2020 “Legacy Of Lies” (**1/2 out of four) was a relatively well-done action potboiler about an ex-MI6 agent (Scott Adkins) who is sucked back into the criminal underworld of espionage and double-crosses when he tries to uncover the works of unknown secret services but finds duplicity, deception, and treachery at every turn. Routine story with Adkins in a role he can easily play in his sleep by now but it’s tautly made and directed and features enough action and intrigue for genre fans. Adkins has already carved out a solid B-movie “legacy” of his own but needs a first-rate vehicle to carry him to more lucrative clout and status. Continue reading →
July 16, 2020 “Volition” (** out of four) was an ambitious but unmoving melodrama about a man (Adrian Glynn McMorran) with an afflicted sense of clairvoyance who attempts to change fate and alter the universe timeline when a series of events leads to a vision of his own murder. Writer/director Tony Dean Smith shows some promising ideas and tells his story with a nimble and stylish hand but film wears you out after a while and never quite connects with you emotionally. For a more moving and compelling look at similar material, watch “The Dead Zone”, “The Gift”, or “Minority Report” instead. Continue reading →
July 16, 2020 “Masked Mutilator” (*1/2 out of four) was an abominable horror thriller about a former pro wrestler (Jeff Sibbach) who walks away from the ring after accidentally killing an opponent and takes a job at a group home for re-offenders when a nutjob wearing a wrestling mask shows up and starts slaughtering his residents and he has to turn to his wrestling skills to fight back to keep everyone alive. Ugly photography and lighting makes this hard to even look at let alone watch and terrible acting doesn’t help matters. This actually started filming back in 1994 if that tells you anything and it took 26 years before it was finally finished. Sometimes, dead really is better. Continue reading →
July 15, 2020 “Alpha Code” (** out of four) was a not-bad sci/fi thriller about a woman with no past (Denise Richards) who is hiding from a ruthless secret agent (Randy Couture) who is the head of a secret space program and hooks up with another fugitive on the run (Bren Foster) and they all attempt to find his alien who was abducted half-alien daughter. Director Keoni Waxman holds you with film’s eerie mood and striking atmosphere but murky plot developments end up weighing the movie down too much. Still watchable though and overall better than most direct-to-DVD sci/fi junk. Screenwriter and story creator Milan Friedrich based this on her own real-life events! Continue reading →
July 14, 2020 “Parts Unknown” (* out of four) was an outlandish sci/fi saga about a family of professional wrestlers (William DeCoff, Alexander Cipolla, and others) who become tired of their profession and sacrificing their bodies for years and seek to venture into murder and otherworldly adventures to stay alive and satisfy their lust for life. Writer/director Richard Chandler has a heavy use of stylistics and color but everything else about this overdone mess is heavy as well. Film drags on almost forever with barely enough story to keep it afloat. Why anyone would waste their money and time on this is the real “unknown”. Continue reading →
July 13, 2020 “Mermaid Isle” (*1/2 out of four) was a toothless horror thriller about a group of none-too-bright friends (Samuel Buchanon, Kiana Passmore, and others) go to a lake for some fun and sun but end up falling into the lake where a diseased mermaid is on the prowl and this leads to all Hell breaking loose. Ridiculous storyline is played for cheap horror and laughs and winds up drowning in its own absurdities. Almost a horror movie version of “The Little Mermaid” but that probably makes it sound much more entertaining than it really is. Continue reading →
July 13, 2020 “Dark Harbor” (*1/2 out of four) was a suspenseless suspense melodrama about a young woman (Jessica Sipos) expecting her first child but some dark secrets from the past threaten her safety especially when she meets a mysterious stranger (Sterling Hurst) who spells trouble from the start. Laughably obvious for most of the way and story eventually sinks into a swamp of unpleasantness. Hurst’s shifting accent in the movie provides film’s only unintentional chuckles. Continue reading →
July 12, 2020 “Fatal Beauty” (** out of four) was a fatally predictable and obvious suspense thriller about a happily married yuppie couple (Brent Bailey and Emma Hamilton) whose happiness and household are disrupted by the arrival of a new neighbor (Roxanna Dunlop) who has a vendetta against them from the past and seeks to turn their lives upsides down. Far from being the worst of its kind but so by-the-numbers you literally expect numerals to start coming on the screen. Anyone who can’t guess the plot twists after the first 20 minutes should get a new hobby. Dunlop is suitably mean and icy in the Glenn Close role. Continue reading →
July 12, 2020 “Greyhound” (***1/2 out of four) was a white-knuckle action melodrama set early in WWII in which an inexperienced U.S. Navy captain (Tom Hanks) must lead an allied convoy on the Greyhound submarine but they find themselves in treacherous waters when they begin being stalked and terrorized by Nazi U-boats and have to outsmart and outbattle them in order to survive. Hold on tight! A rock-solid dramatization of war on the high seas with particular kudos to Shelly Johnson’s magnificent cinematography, Blake Neely’s stirring (and scary) music score, Mark Czyzewski and Sidney Wolinsky’s razor-sharp editing, and Aaron Schneider’s tense and swift direction. Hanks is solid as an oak as usual in a role similar to “Saving Private Ryan” and “Captain Phillips.” Continue reading →
July 12, 2020 “The Old Guard” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately entertaining adaptation of Greg Rucka’s graphic novel about a covert team of immortal mercenaries (led by Charlize Theron) who suddenly become exposed and must fight and risk losing their immortality to keep their identities a secret as they take on a new recruit (KiKi Layne) and have to battle a multimillionaire business mogul (Harry Melling) who initially helped fund and sustain them. Film begins strong, with sharp dialogue and stylized action, but then begins to stall midway through and then revs up again at the ending by which point its already gone on too long. Uneven but Theron’s usual robust performance and good chemistry between her and Layne makes this overall worth checking out. Continue reading →
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