July 24, 2022 “The Wheel” (** out of four) was a maudlin love story about a couple (Amber Midthunder and Taylor Gray) on the verge of divorce who take a weekend vacation in the mountains and attempt to revive their marriage through a book which requires brutal honesty about their past and where they’re going in the future. Never really connects emotionally and as a result film feels jumbled and aloof. Film’s centerpiece on a ferris wheel may remind viewers of “The Notebook” but this one comes off as a series of blank pages by comparison Continue reading →
July 24, 2022 “Shriekshow” (*1/2 out of four) was a low-rent horror show about four friends (Rebecca Rinehart, Diana Noris, and others) who travel to a horror circus and soon meet a ringmaster who tells them four terrifying tales of horror and terror. Unfortunately, none of them is worth listening to. Opening credits have a clever homage to “Halloween IV” but it’s all downhill afterwards. ’80’s horror sirens Tuesday Knight and Felissa Rose have key roles but they themselves may want to “shriek” at this point at what their careers have devolved into. Continue reading →
July 24, 2022 “Moon Crash” (** out of four) was a hackneyed action adventure about a drilling accident which causes a piece of the moon to break off and on a collision course with Earth; a main general (Jeremy London) tries to salvage things by deploying various government workers (Tyler Christopher, Pauline Egan, Jamison Jones) to save the planet as we know it. Obvious low-budget attempt to cash in on the current “Moon Fall” (right down to its title) but also throws in elements of “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact” so no one feels left out. Film’s visual effects and production aren’t bad overall but never rises above mediocrity. Continue reading →
July 24, 2022 “Gateway” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller set in Ireland about a gang of criminals (Tim Creed, Kevin Barry, and others) who seize upon a house in which they think they have found a fortune but it turns out this house has entrapped them in what may be the fight for their lives to get out. It’s much easier to get out of the movie instead. Lackluster movie takes forever to get going and even when it does it covers all-too-familiar material. Even the Ireland scenery looks dull. Drink some Guinness or eat some Lucky Charms instead. Continue reading →
July 24, 2022 “Followers” (*1/2 out of four) was a sorry suspense potboiler about a struggling social media cultist (Henry Jarvis) who soon discovers that the house he is living in is haunted; while he initially greets this favorable as it grants him fame and attention, he soon realizes the deadly consequences that this leads to. Yet another attempt to explore (and exploit) the social media/horror phenomenon; this one mostly like amateur night shot on someone’s spare cell phone. David Sterne adds some style and panache as film’s main villain but there’s otherwise not much worth “following” here. Continue reading →
July 24, 2022 “As A Prelude To Fear” (** out of four) was a stuffy suspense melodrama about a young girl (Lara Lemon) who is kidnapped by a notorious serial killer called the Pied Piper and the police (led by Ian Cumberland) attempt to track him down and find them both before it is too late. Skillful performances do all they can to jack up the pulse and terror but there’s only so much they can do with tired material. Viewers would best re-watch “The Silence Of The Lambs” and “Se7en” for the same material done better 2-3 decades earlier. Continue reading →
July 23, 2022 “Death Count” (*1/2 out of four) was a grisly, unpleasant horror potboiler about various people (Robert Lasardo, Sarah French, Devanny Pinn, and others) who awaken in a cell with no memory of how they arrived and have to solve various riddles and games or else they’ll die at the hands of a vicious executioner (Costas Mandylor) while an over-the-hill cop (Michael Madsen) scrambles to save them before it is too late. Slavish imitation of “Saw” right down to the casting of “Saw” actor Mandylor as the Jigsaw wannabe. Reasonably watchable at first but goes way overboard with ugly violence and killings. It’s cheap timewasters like this that led to Madsen and Lasardo’s careers being down for the “count.” Continue reading →
July 9, 2022 “Best Years Gone” (** out of four) was a hokey melodrama about an older man (DJ Perry) who starts to reflect on his years of self-destructive behavior and how he has few close relationships in life besides the woman (Erika Hoveland) he loves and has to make sense of his life to enjoy the remaining years he has left. Some interesting themes of reflection and loss and realizing one is at the end of their life but story is thin and emotions are muted. Perry also co-wrote the screenplay along with Karl Manke who adapted this from his own novel. Similar story was told much more powerfully with Burt Reynolds in “The Last Movie Star.” Continue reading →
July 9, 2022 “The Summoned” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably done supernatural horror thriller about two couples (J Quinton Johnson and Emma Fitzpatrick / Angela Gulner and Salvador Chacon) who go to a self-help retreat but they soon find out that this retreat (yawn) has a sinister side beneath its otherwordly veneer. Relatively well-made but covers all-too-familiar territory without any shock value or scares. Cast of decent actors helps but this overall feels like reheated Jordan Peele. Continue reading →
July 9, 2022 “Above Snakes” (** out of four) was an overly flat Western about a gunslinger (Brandon Baker) who returns home from prison seeking revenge on the judge (Jeffrey Smith) who sentenced him and sets out to kidnap his daughter (Shannon Sinclear) but finds that this is more morally and personally complex than he anticipated. Potentially juicy storyline of vengeance and moral ambiguity is constricted by mediocre production values and stilted direction. Not the worst of its kind but not memorable either. Continue reading →
dlepikcom 