December 9, 2020 “The Manson Family Massacre” (** out of four) was a muddled psychodrama about a struggling musician (Brendee Green) who moves into the famous Manson house at Cielo Drive and the film flashes back to Manson and the grisly murders from decades ago. Ploddingly told story has an atmosphere of elegant eeriness but nothing much to build on it; by this point is there really anything more to tell- or to scare us with- about the Manson murders? Green nicely underplays but is unable to enrich this tired material Continue reading →
December 9, 2020 “Die Influencers Die” (* out of four) was a perfectly dreadful horror story about a social media icon (Frankie Rivers) who invites some various fans to an abandoned film set where they are all tortured and dismembered one by one by his female cohorts (Tabitha Stevens and Lizzie Borden). Frenetic opening catches your attention; the rest is all amateurish and unwatchable. This mess is unlikely to find much “influencers” of its own. Continue reading →
December 8, 2020 “Spare Parts” (** out of four) was a gory, one-note horror thriller about a female rock band (Jullian Richings, Michelle Argynis, Emily Alatalo) whose touring van breaks down on an abandoned dirt road and they are picked up by (who else?) a redneck truck driver (Jason Rouse) who takes them to his junkyard where they are pitted against one another for spectators in a bloody fight to the death. Ironically titled movie is made itself of spare parts from other movies (“Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” and “The Hunger Games” just to name a few) but at least it’s done with some style and fervor. Plus- the performances and the girl’s music is surprisingly good. Continue reading →
December 8, 2020 “Knuckle Dust” (*1/2 out of four) was an overboiled action melodrama about a special unit team (led by Kate Dickie) who kick open the doors of an underground fight club called Knuckle Dust and find multiple levels of dead bodies; one fighter named Hard Eight (Moe Dunford) is still alive and they have to interrogate him to find out if he’s telling the truth or if there is more to this story. Senseless and silly and soon wears you out although it’s stylish direction and visuals keep you watching for a little while. Starts to resemble a hyperactive video game after a while but you may want to just play “Mortal Kombat” or “Streetfighter” instead. Continue reading →
December 7, 2020 “A Christmas Carol” (** out of four) was an umpteenth version of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic about a grandmother (Sian Phillips) who recites the story to a group of kids and Scrooge (Michael Nunn) who has to contend with the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future which will transform him. Dour and flat retelling of this story is updated with contemporary language and cinematic stylistics but fails to come to much life. Even the cinematography and sets becomes monotonous after a while, much like the film itself after a while. Perhaps it’s time to close Dickens’ novel from future film adaptations and save it for reading instead. Continue reading →
December 6, 2020 “No Place” (*1/2 out of four) was a rudderless melodrama about a wannabe stand-up comic (Benjamin Madrid) who becomes embroiled in a scam in the Midwest involving his ex-flame (Afton Shepard) which proves more complicated and more dangerous than he was expecting and puts him at an unexpected crossroads in his life. For a movie about a comedian, it’s pretty witless and while we’re at it pretty hazy and flat also. “No Story” would have been a better title for this timewaster. Madrid also co-wrote the script. Continue reading →
December 6, 2020 “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” (**1/2 out of four) was a pleasant enough holiday story about the North Pole turning to Santa’s special friend (Mariah Carey) when they are in the midst of a crisis and it’s up to Mariah and her special friends (Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, and others) to save Christmas. Dramatic scenes are nonsensical and trivial but music and production numbers are colorfully and lavishly staged and make this a sufficiently entertaining Christmas present, especially for Mariah fans. If she’s a real personal friend of Santa Claus, however, before her next Christmas special- she may want to ask him for some more acting lessons. Continue reading →
December 5, 2020 “The Prom” (** out of four) was a bombastic musical adaptation of Matthew Sklar’s smash-hit Broadway show about a young girl (Jo Ellen Pellman) who is determined to take her girlfriend (Ariana DeBose) to the prom but the head of the PTA (Kerry Washington) finds out about this and decides to cancel the prom; elsewhere some Broadway legends (Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman) sense they can revitalize their stalled careers by helping the girl out. Lots of wall-to-wall music and singing and dancing (a few of the numbers especially at the climax are dynamite) but it’s all sapped by it’s weak storyline and is a lot of noise and flash over nothing. First-rate cast gives it their all but it still rings hollow. Continue reading →
December 5, 2020 “Mank” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently interesting biographical drama about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) and his development of “Citizen Kane” which many still cite as the greatest film of all time; film chronicles his dealings with various Hollywood insiders and actors (Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, Joseph Cross, and others) while film was in development. Director David Fincher beautifully recreates the aura and mood of golden-era Hollywood with striking and searing black-and-white cinematography from Erik Messerschmidt and various stylistic flourishes but the central story isn’t all that involving. Oldman is dynamic as always as Mank but we don’t know hardly anything about him except that he likes to drink and wants to have a hit. Hardcore Fincher fans and fans of “Citizen Kane” may find film as fascinating as intended. Continue reading →
December 5, 2020 “I Hate New Year’s” (** out of four) was a treacly drama about a rising music star (Dia Frampton) who heads back home to Nashville for New Year’s after a sudden and severe case of writer’s block and soon falls in love with a former friend (Ashley Argota) and rediscovers her passion for music and life in general. Harmless fluff benefits from upbeat performances and shimmering cinematography from Micah Ellers but is hamstrung by its overall predictability and story cliches. Hardly worth “hating” but not all that memorable; young girls may like this better. Continue reading →
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