August 31, 2020 “Tenet” (*** out of four) was a captivating time-traveling thriller only from the mind of Christopher Nolan about a C.I.A. agent (John David Washington) who must journey through a twilight world of international espionage involving his handler (Robert Pattinson) and a Russian anarchist (Kenneth Brannagh more-or-less playing the same role he played in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”) in order to prevent the escalation of World War III. Writer/director Nolan throws in numerous homages to James Bond and obvious stylistic/thematic parallels to his own “Inception” for a film that is alternately complex, involving, abstract, cerebral, and exciting and sometimes all at once. A little long to be sure but never stops swiftly moving and keeping you involved. Continue reading →
August 31, 2020 “Bill And Ted Face The Music” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently amusing third entry in the popular comedy series about the title airheads (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) who find themselves as middle-aged dads who are still trying to fulfill their destiny by writing a rock song that will save and unite the universe and have to travel through time and turn to their old friend the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) once again. Reeves and Winter ably recreate their goofy chemistry from the first two but like those movies this is pretty thin stuff and uneven. Neither excellent nor bogus but better than you might expect and a decent try dudes! Continue reading →
August 30, 2020 “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” (** out of four) was a scattershot documentary about the actor David Arquette who persevered through a lot of snickering and resistance to incredibly enter a successful second career as a pro wrestler even as his personal life and health began to falter. Hard-core fans of Arquette (whomever there are out there) will find this to be a real scream but for the rest of us- it’s fitfully entertaining only in spots and becomes redundant after a while. Features some colorful interviews with Ric Flair, Courtney Cox, Patricia and Roseanna Arquette, among others. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Eye For An Eye” (** out of four) was a jumbled action melodrama about a disavowed C.I.A. agent (Alex Sturman) who goes on the run when she is attacked by various mercenaries who realize she has a missing memory card that could lead to the start of World War III; she then turns to her only ally (Clayton Haymes) to sort out who she can trust and how she can stay alive. Both predictable and confusing, as film follows the prototype of other political action melodramas (“The Bourne Identity” in particular) and has too many twists and turns although it moves fast enough to make it endurable. No relation to the 1996 John Schlesinger/Sally Field movie of the same name. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Josie And Jack” (*1/2 out of four) was a gloomy and boring melodrama about the title characters Josie and Jack (Olivia DeJonge and Alex Neustadter) who have been raised in seclusion by their tyrannical father (William Fichtner) and have never had anyone but each other to depend on but they venture out as teenagers and try to adapt and assimilate to the real world. Ploddingly (and pointlessly) told with no narrative or dramatic momentum and thus no spark or impact. DeJonge’s sincere performance is film’s one bright spot but this is a real oddity. Set for no particular reason in the 1990’s; for no particular reason should you see this anyway. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Hold Fast, Good Luck” (** out of four) was an oppressive soaper about two Generation X’ers (Olivia Hamilton, Antonimar Murphy) who form a relationship that crosses cultural/ethnic/personal boundaries while they try to assess all of this and determine the next step for their own lives and for each other. Writer/director Denny Wong shows his obvious influences here to Woody Allen and Nick Cassavettes and puts in a game effort but neither the characters nor the script are worth our sustained time of an hour-and-a-half; after a while it all seems fake and pre-fabricated which prevent one from getting involved and invested. Continue reading →
August 28, 2020 “Monster Hunters” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheesy monster horror schlockfest about an alien prison ship which crashlands in the California desert and unleashes a series of unrelenting creatures while the army (led by Tom Sizemore) realizes it’s apocalypse now and sends in a secret branch of the government (Connie Jo Sechrist, Anthony Jensen, and others) who specialize in alien weaponry to stop them. Unimaginative pastiche of “Independence Day”, “Tremors”, and (naturally) “Alien” without the sharp wit or shock value or conviction of any of those. Sizemore could play this military role in his sleep by now and does; he needs to be on the “hunt” for a bigger and better comeback role. Continue reading →
August 27, 2020 “Ruthless Realtor” (*1/2 out of four) was a subpar suspense thriller about a newlywed couple (Lily Anne Harrison and Brian Ames) who buy a new house and couldn’t be happier but soon find that the realtor (Christie Burson) is becoming more-and-more obsessed with them and is dropping by more than needed and they soon realize she is a real sicko who will stop at nothing to get her house back. Pretty silly thriller asks you to get excited at the prospect of real estate; if that sounds like little to get scared or excited (or even entertained) by, you wouldn’t be wrong. For a sharper and slicker look at similar story, watch 1990’s “Pacific Heights” instead. Continue reading →
August 27, 2020 “DieRy” (*1/2 out of four) was a brutal story about an instagram model (Claudia Maria Mailer) who is trying to move on from an abusive past with the help of a psychiatrist (James Sutorius) but subsequently her diary is stolen and her friends and family start getting murdered and she has to sort out who is targeting her and why before it’s too late. Ugly and unpleasant, to say the least, although every now and then there’s some flashes of style which remind you of what film is trying for. Clever title, though, if nothing else. Continue reading →
August 26, 2020 “Psycho Sister-In-Law” (** out of four) was a synthetic horror thriller about a happily married couple (Haley Downes and Brando Eaton) about to have their first child together when the husband’s father unexpectedly dies and his estranged- and psychotic- sister-in-law (Lydia Hearst) shows up and wants her piece of their estate and also their upcoming child. You can pretty much guess the rest. A movie compendium of thriller cliches and plot points made for those who have basically never watched a thriller before. Cast of decent actors and attractive lighting at least give this a glossy surface but you’ll forget this pretty much by the time the credits roll. Continue reading →
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