September 29, 2021 “The Good Things Devils Do” (* out of four) is an example of the bad things indie filmmakers do when they have a variety of influences but no story to tell; a ruthless gangster (Bill Oberst, Jr.) wants to retire but attempts one last heist beforehand and elsewhere a family man (David Rucker III) acquires the remains of a notorious vampire and their paths collide on one twisted Halloween night. Jammed with macabre black humor and homages to other horror thrillers but it’s an amateurish mess. This looks like something regurgitated by Rob Zombie. Other past horror stars (Kane Hodder, Linnea Quigley, Jeff Alexander) show up in cameos but this is doubtful to bring many “good things” back to their career. Continue reading →
September 29, 2021 “Through The Glass Darkly” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately well-done small-town murder melodrama about a middle-aged woman (Robyn Lively) whose daughter disappears; one year later another girl disappears and she begins to investigate to try and uncover a link between the two while local law enforcement want to keep things quiet and she begins to suspect there is a tie between the two. Well-captured with mood and emotional power by writer/director Lauren Fash and cinematographer Damian Horan but it gradually wanes before its finish. An interesting feature-film return for Lively who fans may remember from “The Karate Kid 3” and “Teen Witch.” Continue reading →
September 26, 2021 “Coming Home In The Dark” (** out of four) was an artful but empty horror thriller about a schoolteacher (Erik Thomson) out on a road trip with his family and is forced to confront dark secrets from his past when they are terrorized by two drifters (Daniel Gillies and Mattias Luafutu). Unusually crisp and moody cinematography from Matt Henley is a definite highlight throughout but film never builds much substantial momentum or scares and covers all-too-familiar terrain. Based on a short story by Owen Marshall and short is likely what this should have stayed. Continue reading →
September 26, 2021 “East Of The Mountains” (** out of four) was an uninvolving adaptation of David Guterson’s best-selling novel about a retired heart surgeon (Tom Skerritt) who learns he has terminal cancer and then takes his dog out with him for one last trek into the wilderness as he seeks to end his life on his own terms. Beautifully filmed by Sebastien Scandiuzzi and with a few effective moments scattered throughout but this goes South pretty quickly, as it meanders and dawdles. Mira Sorvino is wasted as Skerritt’s concerned daughter. Similar story was covered more richly in 2015’s “A Walk In The Woods.” Continue reading →
September 26, 2021 “Witches Of Blackwood” (** out of four) was a curiously flat and glum supernatural thriller about a cop (Cassandra Macgrath) with PTSD who returns home to sort out various family problems and becomes entangled with a group of witches who are plotting out evil doings on her town. Intelligently written and made especially for this type of film and Macgrath does her best to hold this together but it’s a lumpy brew at best. Re-watch “The Craft” or “Witches Of Eastwick” instead. Continue reading →
September 25, 2021 “Dune” (** out of four) was a hollow adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel/remake of David Lynch’s 1984 cult classic about the son (Timothy Chalamet) of a wealthy and noble family who is entrusted with the protection and vitality of the earth’s galaxy and encounters various mentors (Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaacs, Josh Brolin, and others) and villains (Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and others) along the way. Director Denis Villeneuve enhances many stylish and hypnotic visuals to keep you engaged but with nothing to hang them on since the story, script, and characters are still so dull. About on par with Villeneuve’s reboot of “Blade Runner 2049” although in fairness this is marginally more watchable than the 1984 original. Continue reading →
September 23, 2021 “Night Of The Animated Dead” (*** out of four) was a striking animated remake of George Romero’s 1968 zombie classic about a woman (voice of Katharine Isabelle) who is besieged by zombies and takes refuge in a remote farmhouse with other survivors (voices of Josh Duhamel, Dule Hill, and others) as they try to unearth what’s going on and how to stay alive. On the one hand, this is pretty much a scene-for-scene animated remake of the original which makes you wonder what’s the point but on the other it’s fast-paced and well-animated and the underlying storyline and characters are still a grabber. An interesting companion piece to the original and also its superior and underrated 1990 remake. Continue reading →
September 20, 2021 “Final Frequency” (**1/2 out of four) was a brisk suspense melodrama about a phD student (Kirby Bliss Blanton) who realizes it’s apocalypse now after noticing some unusual tremors in Los Angeles and starts snooping around and realizes it’s tied to rogue scientists (Richard Burgi, Lou Ferrigno, Jr., and others) who want to weaponize Tesla’s secrets and are stil searching for his lost notebook but not if she can find it first and save the world. Story is too conventional and too simple-minded to really score but it never stops moving and packs in enough action and suspense to make it a surprising sleeper. Blaton’s strong performance in the lead is a definite plus. Continue reading →
September 20, 2021 “The Card Counter” (** out of four) was an oddly bland melodrama about a former military investigator (Oscar Isaacs) who is released from prison and starts a new career for himself as a gambler and card counter and soon sees where this new life takes him as he falls in love with a fellow high-roller (Tiffany Haddish). Typically moody outing from writer/director Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver”) but never catches fire and is weakened by lack of substantial storyline. Even the usually strong Isaacs seems muted; Haddish is first-rate, though, in a real change-of-pace role and her scenes with Isaacs are the only time the film hits the jackpot. Similar story was told in Robert Redford/Sydney Pollack’s 1990 “Havana.” Continue reading →
September 20, 2021 “Dark Web: Descent Into Hell” (0 stars out of four) was a worthless horror suspense thriller set online in the mysterious and seamy world of the dark web in which one determined young blogger (Lucas Sarquiz) attempts to enter the Eighth Level of the dark web which is its most disturbing and dangerous but he’s not prepared for how this will mentally and psychologically disturb and alter him. Even by the low standards of these online computer horror thrillers, this one plumbs new depths. Get ready for long patches of monologues straight to the camera and actually some pseudo-religious psychobabble when they run out of other things to do! Continue reading →
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