January 30, 2021 “The Little Things” (** out of four) was a tepid thriller about a world-weary and grizzled detective (Denzel Washington) who is teamed with a younger officer (Remi Malek) to track down a serial killer (Jared Leto) who has managed to elude the other police and local authorities. Malek is so bug-eyed and acts so bizarre that he seems even loonier than Leto who is the actual killer! Film holds your attention with an atmosphere of tense malevolence but doesn’t build to a satisfying whole or conclusion. Writer/director John Lee Hancock wrote the script for this 30 years ago which figures since film substantially borrows from the far superior “Manhunter” and “Seven.” Continue reading →
January 30, 2021 “Unfollower” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable suspense thriller about a fitness instructor (Julie Crisante) who soon becomes the target of cyber-stalking that turns personal and physical when she starts to become terrorized by an unknown assailant and has to use her fitness skills and psychological wits to outwit him and stay alive. Intriguing at first but story soon becomes ungainly, uninvolving, and unpleasant. Crisante is underwhelming in the lead. Hardly a story worth “following.” Continue reading →
January 30, 2021 “Trafficked” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall gripping action melodrama about a couple (Mark Boyd and Kristy Swanson) whose daughter (Sophia Bolen) is abducted and sold into the world of sex-trafficking; in desperation they turn to a thuggish private investigator (Dean Cain) with a shady past who swears to get her back by any means necessary. Uneven movie is half-exploitation screw-tightening but also half engrossing as it shows you the harrowing world of sex trafficking and the lengths some parents and cops will go to get someone back. Similar to the 2017 film of the exact same name but both are worthy of some merits. Continue reading →
January 27, 2021 “Dead In The Water” (*1/2 out of four) was a waterlogged suspense thriller about a successful photography vlogger (Catherine Lidstone) who goes with her best friend (Angela Gulner) to a weekend getaway house where a mysterious man (Peter Porte) soon crosses their path and this stirs up emotions and suspicions between the two as they suspect that one of them may be a murderer. Thoroughly obvious and predictable story takes a turn for the worse at the end and becomes pretty laughable. Attractive scenery locations are a definite plus but otherwise film itself is pretty “dead in the water.” Continue reading →
January 26, 2021 “Salt-N-Pepa” (** out of four) was a superficial biographical drama about the legendary hip-hop group (G.G. Townson and Laila Odom) who were former Sears workers and nursing students in Queens who decided to embark on a career in the male-dominated rap industry and did their best to persevere through-out all their ups-and-downs together. Typical Lifetime biography moves fast but is cluttered and mediocre. It doesn’t help that the two actresses don’t look at all like Salt-N-Pepa and don’t expect to see much here about the equally important group member Spinderella. Smashing musical number at the end is the highlight of film. Continue reading →
January 25, 2021 “Killer Shark” (** out of four) was an overall generic horror thriller set in China about six young people (Qiu Pincheng, Liang Jingjing, Shu Guilin, and others) trapped at sea who are terrorized and mauled by a man-eating shark who has been mutated by pollution. The shark attack scenes are unusually vivid and deliver the goods but the rest of the movie as a whole is familiar and by-the-numbers. By this point- there may not be much new anyone can do with the shark attack genre. Continue reading →
January 25, 2021 “Virus Shark” (* out of four) was a Godawful horror thriller set in the not-too-distant future in which the world is ravaged by a virus SHVID-1 which is spread by a shark bite and scientists (James Carolus, Steve Diasparra, Danielle Donohue, and others) at the bottom of the ocean are racing against the clock to find a cure but soon find out they also may be shark food soon. Dreadful acting and filmmaking turn this into an unintentional comedy. It’s toothless bores like this that make you realize “Jaws 3” and “4” were not nearly as bad as we thought at the time. Continue reading →
January 25, 2021 “The Wrong Prince Charming” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average suspense thriller about a successful entrepreneur (Cristine Prosperri) who is involved in a multimillion dollar real estate deal with her boss (Vivica Fox) and a handsome prince (David Nitti); her and the prince soon fall in love but she soon becomes suspicious (hence the title) he’s not all he appears. Ultimately done in by standard conventions and story predictability but Nitti’s stylish performance and entertaining character and David DeCoteau’s no-frills direction make this one of the better entries in Fox’s “wrong” series. Film’s wrap-up, though, is a little flat. Continue reading →
January 25, 2021 “The 100 Candles Game” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller about a group of friends (Magui Bravi, Luz Champane, Amparo Espinola, and others) who reunite for a game in which they tell a story of horror for each candle burning but naturally the game goes askew and horrific things start happening and they all have to run for their lives. It took two writers and a staggering nine directors to come up with this run-of-the-mill clinker which is sorely lacking in any thrills or scares. Horror fans needn’t bother with this silly “game”. Continue reading →
January 25, 2021 “No Man’s Land” (** out of four) was an overly leisurely neo-Western melodrama set on the Mexico/Texas border in which a man (Jake Allyn) accidentally kills a young immigrant boy; when his dedicated father (Frank Grillo) tries to take the blame, the man flees to Mexico and is pursued by a determined Texas ranger (George Lopez) as he tries to seek forgiveness from the dead boy’s parents. Vibrantly photographed and enhanced by a melancholic score by Brooke and Will Blair but never builds the dramatic momentum and fire it needs. Andie Macdowell has a small key role as Allyn’s mom. This is no relation to the 1987 Charlie Sheen-D.B. Sweeney thriller of the same name. Continue reading →
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