August 28, 2022 “Samaritan” (** out of four) was a mild adaptation of the Mythos Comics graphics novel about a young boy (Javon Walton) who learns that a loner (Sylvester Stallone) living in his apartment building is a superhero who disappeared decades ago and they form an unexpected bond and friendship as they both attempt to save their city- and the galaxy- together. Never rises above the routine and catches fire, despite game efforts from everyone involved. Film was all-too-obviously inspired by both “Finding Forrester” and “Unbreakable” which doesn’t excuse the film from being wholly derivative. At nearly 80, Stallone may want to call it a day before he is officially labeled “expendable.” Continue reading →
August 28, 2022 “Glorious” (* out of four) was a brutal horror melodrama about a young man (Ryan Kwanten) who wanders into a rest-stop and goes into the bathroom stall and finds himself trapped there with a voice in the adjacent room commanding him to commit horrific deeds or else pay the price. Nearly 20 years later- audiences are still paying the price for having made “Saw” a hit; movies like these make that one look like classic “Halloween” by comparison. The great J.K. Simmons is wasted in a small but key supporting role. Continue reading →
August 28, 2022 “Swim” (*** out of four) was a stylishly done B-movie about a family (Jennifer Field, Andy Lauer, and others) that gets trapped in their flooded vacation rental and have to escape from a ravenous shark that has made its way into their house but have nowhere to go since the entire city is flooded and is a giant river. Opening scenes are a little plain and heavy-handed but once it gets going- film delivers the goods with scary shark scenes and efficient direction and filmmaking. Bonus: the shark looks especially vivid and terrifying! Continue reading →
August 28, 2022 “Low Life” (* out of four) was an abysmal potboiler that more than lives up to its title about a small-time YouTuber (Wes Dunlap) who specializes in catching sexual predators in their own homes- and filming them- but finds himself in trouble when he lets one of them into his own home and they turn the tables on him. Deeply unpleasant movie gives you no one to root for since the main character is as unlikeable as the sex criminals he’s catching! The kind of movie that makes you want to take a long shower afterwards. Continue reading →
August 28, 2022 “Shark Side Of The Moon” (** out of four) was a half-baked sci/fi suspense thriller about seemingly unkillable sharks who were launched to the moon by the USSR decades ago; now in present day, an American crew of astronauts (Michael Marcel, Tania Fox, and others) venture to the moon but soon find themselves mauled and attacked and in a vicious battle to the death to make it back home. Not as bad as its title or its insane storyline suggests but overall pretty forgettable. It might be time that filmmakers gave sharks in general a rest for a while. Continue reading →
August 14, 2022 “Beast” (*** out of four) was a fierce horror adventure about a doctor (Idris Elba) on vacation in Africa with his two daughters (Iyana Halley and Leah Jeffries) when they are suddenly besieged by a ravenous lion and they have to band together to survive. Somewhat similar to 1996′ “The Ghost And The Darkness” but is actually far better with beautiful scenery and a usual strong performance from Elba. Plus- those lion attack scenes are pretty intense and scary! No relation to the other film “Beast” also released this year. Continue reading →
August 14, 2022 “Stowaway” (*1/2 out of four) was a sub-par suspense thriller about a feisty independent girl (Ruby Rose) who has to fight for her life when three thieves (led by Frank Grillo) commandeer her luxury yacht and she has to turn the tables on them to survive. Pretty blah and by-the-numbers; it’s films like this that make you realize even more why “Die Hard” is such a classic. Grillo is wasted in his umpteenth role as a smooth-talking thug. Continue reading →
August 14, 2022 “Orphan: First Kill” (*** out of four) was a chilling prequel to the original showing how the murderous Ester (Isabelle Fuhrman) escaped from an Estonian psychiatric facility and ingratiated herself with a loving family but the matriarch (Julia Stiles) senses from the beginning that something isn’t quite right. Unnecessary follow-up to the 2009 original but having said that, it’s well-made, features some scares, and Fuhrman again delivers another strong, creepy performance. Impressive digital de-aging made Furhman look exactly the same as in the original. Continue reading →
August 14, 2022 “The Most Dangerous Game” (* out of four) was a dangerously dull action thriller about a group of various people (Judd Nelson, Tom Berenger, Bruce Dern, and others) who find themselves on a remote island under the ruling of a vindictive psychopath (Casper Van Dien) who uses the island as a killing ground for hunting humans. Umpteenth adaptation of Richard Connell’s short story may be its worst yet and is a complete bore. Collection of lost actors from the ’80’s and ’90’s seem to be simply collecting another check before retirement and nothing more. A foreign accent simply does not work for Van Dien. Continue reading →
August 7, 2022 “Nope” (**1/2 out of four) was an elegantly done but overall empty horror psychodrama about various residents and actors (Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and others) in an inland California town who start witnessing an unidentified flying object and have to scramble to find out its origins and to attempt to survive. Initially gripping and compelling in a way that harks back to the grandeur of early Kubrick and Craven but the more the story unfolds, the less frightening and revelatory it is and it starts to lose its way. By the end- you may ask “is that all there is?” Kaluuya is rock-solid as usual and the great character actor Michael Wincott shows up in a key role in the middle. Continue reading →
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