July 6, 2022 “#Unknown” (* out of four) was a nearly unwatchable psychodrama about a successful author (Hal Oszan) who starts receiving bizarre phone calls as he attempts to write the follow-up to his lucrative debut but soon finds that the phone calls and stress begin twisting his reality inside-out and causing him to lose his mind. By the end of this mess, you’ll know exactly as he feels. Deeply unpleasant film is a real waste of time. Tom Sizemore is well-cast as a recovering drug addict; whether he is ever able to get his career back on track is the real “unknown.” Continue reading →
July 6, 2022 “3 Demons” (* out of four) was an abjectly painful horror clunker about a deputy (Peter Tell) who is hired to watch over the corpse of a recently deceased woman (Zoe Cunningham) until her family can arrive and claim her but instead for reasons known only to him- he performs a dead ritual on her which (you guessed it) causes all Hell to break loose. Shoddy filmmaking and overhyped acting turn this into an unintentional comedy. Writer/director was Matt Cunningham and Tara Cunningham was one of the co-producers so apparently this demonic undertaking was a family affair. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Hustle” (*** out of four) was an engaging sports drama about a basketball scout (Adam Sandler) who is on a trip in Spain and discovers a phenomenal street player (Juancho Hernangomez) and tries to recruit him and bring him back to America but finds that he has a lot of personal and legal baggage to have to overcome. Film follows a predictable pattern from “Jerry Maguire” and “The Air Up There” (among others) and goes over the familiar numbers but is carried along by Sandler’s usual effortless likeability and Hernangomez’ charisma and their chemistry and camaderie together feels genuine and real. Julius Erving and Robert Duvall show up in key supporting roles. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Thor: God Of Thunder” (** out of four) was a flimsy action adventure about the mighty Thor (Myrom Kingery) who has to pursue his evil uncle Loki (Daniel O’Reilly) who plans to destroy a tree which holds the power of the universe leading to a battle between them for the fate of the universe and mankind as a whole. Allegedly based on the video game of the same name and NOT in any way connected to the Marvel blockbuster series; not bad for what it is but hindered by cheesy production and filmmaking. Fans would best wait for the similarly titled “Thor: Love And Thunder” out next week. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Night Blooms” (** out of four) was a languid melodrama about a troubled young girl (Jessica Clement) who begins in an affair with her best friend’s dad (Nick Stahl) but this obviously leads to moral/personal/legal consequences for the both of them as they both finds themselves at a crossroads in their life over what to do. Shallow and predictable story of young lust and rebellion and moral choices doesn’t go deep enough to carry much power or charge. Clement is good in the lead but her character is awfully aloof and obtuse. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Revealer” (** out of four) was a sordid suspense melodrama about a stripper (Caito Aase) and a religious protester (Shaina Schrooten) who are trapped together in a peep-show booth (!) but must put their differences aside to survive the apocalypse as all Hell is breaking loose around them. Not entirely disposable as film is directed with some flair by Luke Boyce and has candy-colored cinematography from Robert Patrick Stern but is too unseemly and routine to score overall. Set for no particular reason in the ’80’s. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Terror On The Prairie” (*1/2 out of four) was a leaden melodrama about a fiercely independent frontier woman (Gina Carano) who has to protect herself and fight to stay alive when a ruthless gang of outlaws (Nick Searcy, Donald Cerrone, and others) show up and are out for bloodthirsty revenge. Plodding story moves in fits and starts and goes on forever. Carano is one-note and Searcy chews the scenery but it’s all flavorless and stale. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Death Alley” (*1/2 out of four) was a jerry-built Western set in 1892 in which the Dalton Gang (Joshua Outzen, Justin France, Tristan Campbell, and others) set out to become the most famous outlaws in America but this lead them to all-out war with other gangs and various law enforcement. If you ever want to see a virtual library of Western cliches (saloon fights, gun standoffs, lots of….dust), look no further. Perhaps it’s time to retire the Western genre before it itself suffers its own “death.” Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Dark Light” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller about an Interpol detective (Damian Chapa) who investigates a series of bizarre murders in Ireland; a beautiful woman (Estefania Villaespesa) is blamed for the murders but he begins to suspect that there might be more than meets the eye and this investigation brings him to the church and investigating a possible stigmata. Rockbottom clunker looks cheap and goes nowhere slowly. Even the Ireland scenery looks dreary. Chapa also wrote, directed, and co-produced this mess. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Hot Seat” (** out of four) was a middling action potboiler about a former hacker (Kevin Dillon) who arrives at work and finds out he literally cannot leave his seat unless he hacks into a high-level bank and is tormented by an unseen perpetrator while a burnt out cop (who else but Mel Gibson) tries to break in and rescue him. Relatively well-made and well-acted but never rises above solid mediocrity. Dillon does his best to enliven things with his rogue charisma but Gibson a… Continue reading →
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