September 8, 2021 “Flag Day” (** out of four) was an emotionally obtuse melodrama about a teenage girl (Dylan Penn) and her complicated relationship with her father (Sean Penn who also directed) who tries to take care of her but also leads a double life as a counterfeither and bank robber and underworld criminal. Like a lot of other Penn’s directorial works (“The Pledge”, “The Crossing Guard”), this is earnest and well-intentioned but clouded by an overall air of aloofness and indifference that prevents the material from connecting emotionally. Similar in aura and mood to Penn’s 1991 directorial debut “The Indian Runner” and even more similar in plot to 1986′ “At Close Range” which Penn starred in. Continue reading →
September 6, 2021 “C.O.R.N.” (*1/2 out of four) was a tawdry horror melodrama about a group of friends (Kennedy Tucker, Matteus Ward, and Roger Cross) whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they meet an older creep (Dylan Riley Snyder) who specializes in human taxidermy and apparently chases and stalks people throughout the cornfields in his area. Just another jerry-built maze of horror cliches with little to recommend it even for hardcore horror and gore fans. One-by-one you’re mostly waiting for the characters to die. Watch “Children Of The Corn” again instead. Continue reading →
September 6, 2021 “Stillwater” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly moving story of a dedicated blue-collar father (Matt Damon) who travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin) who is in prison for a murder she says she didn’t commit and attempts to prove her innocence and get her out of prison at any personal cost. Starts off absorbing and gripping but then goes flat, as it wanders in too many different directions as Damon falls in love with a Frenchwoman (Camille Cottin) and gets mired up in the criminal underworld. Even the ending doesn’t quite have the visceral impact or punch it needs but Damon’s heartfelt and solid work makes film overall worth watching. Continue reading →
September 5, 2021 “Noxious 2: Cold Case” (* out of four) was a dismal follow-up set years after the events of the original in which the protagonist (Bathsheba Nichole Adams) is on the run and finds her past is catching up with her as she finds herself at a personal and psychological crossroads in her life while she tries to unravel a sex-trafficking case. Yet another sequel that I don’t think very many were waiting for but regardless- it’s a terrible move in its own right. Muddled and low-grade pretty much all the way through. For hard-core fans of the original only. Continue reading →
September 5, 2021 “Death Rider In The House Of Vampires” (0 stars out of four) was an excruciating schlockfest set in the Wild Wild West in which a mysterious lone ranger cowboy (Devon Sawa) enters a dangerous vampire sanctuary and finds that the only price of admission is the sacrifice of a female virgin and subsequently finds that the evil Count (Julian Sands) and a ruthless villain (Glenn Danzig) have other plans. If you make it through the first 20 minutes, you might actually survive all the way to the end; film is senseless and static and is ugly to even look at. Rock star Danzig also wrote and directed this miserable timewaster and seems to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of his pal Rob Zombie. Danzig songs “Long Way From Hell” and “Pain Is Like An Animal” are all-too-apt descriptions of what it’s like sitting through this one. Continue reading →
September 4, 2021 “Uploaded” (** out of four) was a tepid melodrama about a famous television and online prankster (Brian Krause) who finds the tables turned on him when he is set up for a murder he did not commit and he finds himself on the run without anyone he can trust while his fans search him out every step of the way. Fairly fast-moving but lacks the dramatic tension and intrigue that a story like this needs and wears out after a while. Nowhere near the worst of its genre but isn’t worth either uploading or downloading. Continue reading →
September 4, 2021 “Burial Ground Massacre” (*1/2 out of four) was slapdash horror junk about a group of college students (Chelsea Vale, Vinny Marseglia, Karra Curnane Joseph, and others) who spend a night partying at a decrepit mansion when they are suddenly stalked and slashed by a masked killer (Michael Madsen) who wants to repossess an ancient Native American artifact locked inside. Cliche-ridden and by-the-numbers horror thriller with random S & M and ugly violence inserted to keep you entertained. The real “massacre” is what’s become of one-time great actor Madsen’s career. Continue reading →
September 4, 2021 “Outlaw’s Buckle” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently tense and engaging melodrama set inside a Texas jail in which a female cop (Rachel G. Whittle) comes for a visit and actually turns out to be a serial killer on the prowl while a determined and world-weary officer (Thom Hallum) attempts to stop her and save his unit. Story is more than a little reminiscent of “Assault On Precinct 13” and also harks back to former film glories of Sam Peckinpah and Walter Hill but that being said, it’s well-acted and extremely well-captured by cinematographer Anthony Gutierrez and holds your attention. Refreshingly quick and short also, at only 80 minutes. Continue reading →
September 3, 2021 “Megalodon Rising” (*1/2 out of four) was a thirdhand “Jaws” wannabe about yet another gigantic killer shark who swims into military waters and a rogue navy crew (Tom Sizemore, Wynter Eddins, O’Shay Neal, and others) who attempt to exterminate it once and for all. The shark scenes and effects are vivid but they’re few and far between; the rest is utterly by-the-numbers. Maybe it’s time by now they put the killer shark genre to rest for a while before it’s entertainment value becomes utterly extinct. Continue reading →
September 3, 2021 “The Last House On The Street” (* out of four) was an abysmal potboiler about two morons (Jeremy Behie and Dylan Garcia) who live on a nowheresville street and two beautiful girls (Gabby d Barbosa and Mary Kate McCormick) move in; initially, they are enthralled by this but they soon start to realize sinister and subversive things are beginning to happen and things start to get really ugly in the neighborhood. In dire need of a coherent storyline and characters who are even slightly likeable; make this film “the last” on your Netflix list. Continue reading →
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