April 9, 2022 “All The Old Knives” (** out of four) was a disappointing suspense melodrama about two C.I.A. operatives and ex-lovers (Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton) who meet at a luxurious resort to review an incident 6 years prior in which an operative was doublecrossed while others (Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Pryce) try to make sense of things. Ho-hum storyline covers all-too-familiar territory and has no urgency and thus no suspense. Strong cast does what they can with tired material. Based on the book by Olen Steinhauer which has unfortunately grown stale over the years. Continue reading →
April 9, 2022 “Agent Game” (** out of four) was a half-baked paranoia suspense thriller about a group of C.I.A. operatives (Mel Gibson, Jason Isaacs, Dermot Mulroney, Katie Cassidy) operating in different quadrants around the world and find that they’ve all been duped and are being set up. But who’s exactly playing who? Reheated governmental conspiracy/C.I.A. thriller feels like a leftover relic from the ’70’s and the “Bourne” era. Overly complicated and talky, with only its strong cast to keep it watchable. This reunites Gibson and Isaacs from “The Patriot” but both are off of their “game” here. Continue reading →
April 9, 2022 “Morbius” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately entertaining Marvel comic-book adaptation about a biochemist (Jared Leto) suffering from a rare blood disorder; he tries to cure himself with an experiment but this turns him into a superhuman vampire and vigilante out on the streets. Lack of plot and focus are compensated by strong mood and style with homages to “Batman Begins” and Leto’s usual commanding performance. Far from the best of Marvel’s comic-book lot but still better than you might have heard. NYC scenes were actually filmed in Manchester in the United Kingdom! Continue reading →
April 9, 2022 “Jurassic Island” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheezoid action adventure about a group of explorers (Sarah T. Cohen, Nicola Wright, Kate Sandison, and others) who become stranded on an island where they are preyed upon by extinct dinosaurs. Unbelievable ripoff of “Jurassic Park” right down to its title but is pretty tedious and boring. As for the special effects and dinosaurs, let’s just be kind and say they can’t hold a candle to “JP” which came out nearly 30 years ago! Continue reading →
April 7, 2022 “Barbarians” (*1/2 out of four) was a bloody bore about four friends (Catalina Sandino Moreno, Iwan Rheon, Tom Cullen, Connor Swindells) who come together for a birthday celebration that turns ugly when dark secrets emerge and strange occurrences begin occurring around them. Takes forever to get going but then once it does becomes predictable and over-the-top. Story takes elements of “The Big Chill”, “Suicide Kings”, and “The Strangers” and throws them all into a synthetic blender. Continue reading →
April 7, 2022 “Follower” (*1/2 out of four) was a cliche-strewn horror melodrama about three girls (Revell Carpenter, Molly Leach, Gigi James) on a backpacking trip in the wilderness where they soon find they are (what else?) stalked by a mysterious redneck who seems to be tracking their every move and seems to have watched “Mother’s Day” and “Wolf Creek” one too many times. Story is so by-the-numbers that it wouldn’t surprise you if numbers actually appeared at you off the screen and gets pretty unpleasant and ugly after a while. Decently acted overall but still there’s not much worth “following” here. Continue reading →
April 2, 2022 “Boon” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring melodrama about a professional assassin (Neal McDonough) trying to hide from his past life who meets a woman (Christiane Sidel) and finds that her and her son and himself are all hiding from the same underworld criminal organization and have to unite together to try and survive. Schizophrenic movie alternates from faux-sentimentality to flat action and dramatics but goes nowhere with either; only the ending comes alive but it’s too late by then. Mickey Rourke played a similar role in 1987’s “A Prayer For The Dying.” Continue reading →
April 2, 2022 “Kicking Blood” (*1/2 out of four) was a fairly anemic horror melodrama about a vampire (Alanna Bale) who witnesses an alcoholic (Luke Bilyk) in recovery and attempts to quit her vampiring activities in order to save him but finds that this isn’t quite as easy as it may seem. Give writer/director Blaine Thurrier credit for attempting to do something new within the horror genre and infusing this with a sense of style but it’s all frosting on a cake that’s molded and stale. This almost looks like “Blade” redone as a soap opera! Continue reading →
April 2, 2022 “The Ice Demon” (*1/2 out of four) was supernatural hokum about a man (Andrey Marusin) who awakens from a coma and returns to his hometown and his family and is unaware that he brings some otherworldly and sinister life forces with him and everyone has to attempt to run for cover (including the audience). Good production values and atmosphere are definite plusses but story, script, and characters are all for the birds and leave this one on “ice.” Continue reading →
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