November 21, 2020 “Disrupted” (*1/2 out of four) was a discombobulated thriller about a widower (Ron Kaell) whose quest for vigilante justice is rekindled when a local unsolved murder is oddly similar to his wife’s murder from years earlier and he seeks out various underworld figures (Daniel Roebuck, Geoffrey Lower, and others) to find his own personal retribution. Muddled film veers from a character study psychodrama to a gory horror film with little deftness or fluidity and thus amounts to nothing. By the end, it’s an unpleasant waste of time. Kaell’s sincere and empathic performance is sorely wasted. Continue reading →
November 19, 2020 “Lemonheads” (* out of four) was a sour and ugly melodrama about two heroin junkies (George Jonson and Samuel Wyatt) caught up in the hell of addiction and desperately search out their next fix which brings them to the lair of a kingpin freak (William Shockley). Don’t look for more plot than that or much else either. Just because it’s a film about junkies doesn’t mean it has to be so junky itself and (also) boring. Film is recommended only for those who may have thought “Trainspotting” was overrated. Incredibly, three directors and writers are credited for this mess which proves that sometimes more really is less. Continue reading →
November 19, 2020 “Active Shooter” (* out of four) was an inactive mess about three women (Catherine Dyer, Andrea Andrade, Ashlynn Moore) who are stuck in an office restroom in the midst of a shooting situation at work in which they all begin to have growing distrust of each other and also of a male victim (Joshua Mikel) in the bathroom with them. Unlikeable and uninvolving characters sink this all the way; as a character study and a psychodrama, this fires all blanks. Continue reading →
November 18, 2020 “Jiu Jitsu” (** out of four) was a jumbled action thriller about a group of freedom fighters (Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, and others) face alien invaders (led by Nicolas Cage) on a distant planet in a battle for Earth that will be fought to the death. Cage’s latest paycheck in the form of a direct-to-DVD is a throwback to cheesy kung-fu movies from the 1970’s; silly and ridiculous but at least it moves fast and features a proficient amount of fight sequences and effects. Ironically despite the title, there isn’t any jiu jitsu fighting whatsoever in the film. Continue reading →
November 17, 2020 “Playhouse” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller set in the Scottish countryside in which a middle-aged writer (William Holstead) moves into a rural castle to write his new novel when he suddenly finds that his daughter (Grace Courtney) has- what else?- fallen prey to an evil curse that is lurking within the house. Not all that different from “House” or “The Amityville Horror” which came out 30-40 years ago and had more scares and style than this does. One of the most gloomy-looking movies in recent memory and likely won’t inspire many trips to Scotland anytime soon. Continue reading →
November 17, 2020 “The Giant” (** out of four) was an overly remote small-town horror melodrama about a teenager (Odessa Young) who has just graduated from high-school whose missing boyfriend (Ben Schnetzer) suddenly re-appears when a series of murders suddenly start and she finds herself at a personal and psychological crossroads in life. Writer/director David Raboy works in a trance-like style that is initially hypnotic and alluring but film never builds much momentum and loses its grip after a while. Good performances and arty cinematography from Eric Yue are unable to camouflage void at film’s center. Continue reading →
November 17, 2020 “Young, Stalked, And Pregnant” (*1/2 out of four) was a sterile thriller about a high-school girl (Taylor Blackwell) who finds herself pregnant from her boyfriend (Cody Sulek); upon deciding that she’d be best without him and moving on, she suddenly finds that her boyfriend and his psychotic mom (Tanya Clarke) are taking matters into their own hands to try to take control of their future child. Lackluster movie made for those who have never watched a thriller before or will rent just about anything from Redbox machines. Clarke’s creepy performance provides film’s only effective moments. Continue reading →
November 17, 2020 “The Kid Detective” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless melodrama about a once-celebrated child detective who grows up to be a disheveled and hungover has-been (Adam Brody) who makes his living as a sticky gumshoe but finds perhaps a sense of redemption when a female client (Sophie Nelisse) hires him to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend. Curiously glum and flat movie fails to engage on any level, despite Brody’s game performance. Film’s ending is genuinely bizarre but at least it’s over afterwards. Continue reading →
November 16, 2020 “Loco” (**1/2 out of four) was a simpatico crime thriller about a young kid (Tim Torre) who gets involved in dealing the title addictive drug but soon falls in love with a fellow dealer (Geffri Maya) and becomes caught in a brutal underworld battle between two rival dealers (Craig Stark and Ski Carr) and finds that all is not what it seems. Routine story of dealings and doublecrossings is given sparks and a strong boost by its earnest cast. Stark is a standout as the main dealer with an ambiguous agenda. At least it’s no malo. Continue reading →
November 16, 2020 “Airliner Sky Battle” (** out of four) was a relatively generic action thriller about a group of ruthless Russian terrorists (Daniel O’Reilly and Ego Mikitas) who hijack a commercial American jet and intend on crashlanding into a nuclear power plant near the White House that will devaste the Eastern seaboard; fortunately, some military passengers (Wade Baker, DeAngelo Davis, and others) onboard attempt to overthrow them and save the world. Not bad as these things go, with some zippy action and decent stunts and visual effects, but limited by its low-budget and secondhand production feel. Not all that different than Paul Greengrass’ cinema-verite “United 93”. Continue reading →
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