September 24, 2022 “To The Moon” (*1/2 out of four) was a lifeless melodrama about a young couple (Scott Friend and Madeline Morgenweck) who embark on a weekend of healing which is upended by his mysterious brother (Will Brill) who shows up and begins to distort their sense of reality and then the fabric of their relationship together. Striking and eerie cinematography from Dan Debrey is a superior plus but film is otherwise a languid bore. A romantic love triangle is hard to get involved in when you don’t care about even one of the characters. This one deserves to be kicked all the way to the moon. Continue reading →
September 24, 2022 “Ten Tricks” (** out of four) was a curiously aloof and uninvolving comedy melodrama set over the course of one night in which the madam (Lea Thompson) of a local and popular brothel intends to get pregnant at her older age while an over-the-hill magician (Sam Hennings) across the street ponders changing his life as well. Promising comedy starts off well, with snappy dialogue and an excellent performance from Thompson, but then slows down and gets monotonous and starts to develop an annoying case of the cutes. Excellent black-and-white cinematography from John Bailey is a definite standout throughout but you wish film had more “tricks” up its sleeve. Continue reading →
September 23, 2022 “Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty unbearable horror thriller about a young girl (Jeong Jong-seo) with unusual telekinetic powers who escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own on the seedy streets of New Orleans but is tracked down by a hard-nosed cop (Craig Robinson) and befriended by a down-on-her-luck stripper (Kate Hudson- what the hell is she doing in this movie?). Cheesy and tacky thriller soon sputters to a halt. Is this what Hudson’s career has come to??? Continue reading →
September 21, 2022 “Pearl” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably done horror melodrama set in 1918 showing the back-story of Pearl (Mia Goth) and how she grew up in an isolated farmhouse under the domineering hand of her strict mother and how she yearned for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies and how her ambitions, temptations, and repressions drove her to an insane state of murder. Yet another unnecessary horror follow-up- this is actually a prequel to last year’s “X” although the movie it might remind you most of is M. Night Shymalan’s “The Village.” Either way, it’s snail-paced and glum. Goth’s bravura performance is film’s only asset. Continue reading →
September 21, 2022 “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn” (*1/2 out of four) was an abortive attempt to restart this series about a young woman (Sydney Craven) traveling with her boyfriend (Imran Adams) to a horror festival in which she starts having disturbing premonitions about the title Creeper (Jarrau Benjamin) and how his presence may be centered around her existence. Fourth film entry in this inexplicably popular series is crummy and silly. For anyone wondering, the Creeper here looks like Freddy Kruegger dressed as the killer from “I Know What You Did Last Summer” but is nowhere near as creepy as either. Continue reading →
September 21, 2022 “Barbarian” (** out of four) was a lumpy horror thriller about a woman (Georgina Campbell) staying at an AirBNB who discovers that the house she is staying at is not what it appears; later, a disgraced actor creep (Justin Long) is trying to get his life together but soon stumbles upon her in the house and both their fates and consequences are intertwined. Confusing thriller stops-and-starts and has story threads in scattered directions. Works best in its final third where it has flashes of creepy dread and cleverness but not enough to make it work as a whole. Jordan Peele did uncredited work on film’s story and characters but he should have said “nope” to this and worked on other projects instead. Continue reading →
September 18, 2022 “Confess, Fletch” (** out of four) was an unnecessary third entry/reboot/whatever of the title character (Jon Hamm) finding himself the prime suspect in a series of murders and trying to prove his innocence while searching for the lost art collection of his former wife. Scattershot chuckles throughout and Hamm tries but a little of this does not go a long way. Chevy Chase is nowhere to be found here but Kyle Maclachlan, Marcia Gay Harden, and Robert Picardo help give film a lively supporting cast. Continue reading →
September 18, 2022 “What Josiah Saw” (** out of four) was an impossibly long and muddled melodrama about a family (Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Scott Haze, and others) who reunite at a family farmhouse after more than 2 decades but discover that old and unresolved family secrets still exist that threaten to tear their fabric apart until they are resolved. Film has some striking individual scenes and good performances from Stahl and Patrick but is eroded by its overlength and overall self-importance that weighs film down. After a while- you start asking what’s the point? Carlos Ritter’s burnished cinematography is an undeniable standout Continue reading →
September 15, 2022 “The Red Book Ritual” (*1/2 out of four) was a paint-by-numbers horror thriller about three friends (Valeria San Martin, Agutsin Olcese, and Marlene Pedersen Chauviere) who get together in a creaky old house and decide to the play the title game unaware that this (yawn) unlocks the evil spirit of an ancient witch (Bruno Giacobbe) which causes all (or at least some) Hell to break loose. Moodily photographed by Michael Tessari but otherwise is muted and muddled. Somehow, 7 directors are credited for this! Continue reading →
September 14, 2022 “Deus” (** out of four) was a congenitally derivative sci/fi suspense melodrama about a space crew (Claudia Black, Richard Blackwood, Phil Davis, and others) who discover a mysterious black sphere around Mars; they subsequently awake after eight months of hibernation and find that the sphere is mysteriously transmitting the title word in every language known to man and have to uncover why. Viewers who watch the film will have a lot less to uncover themselves. Virtually a catalogue of sci/fi cliches and story fragments- particularly from “Event Horizon” and “Sphere” and (naturally) also “Alien.” Not bad for what it is and does feature some stylish art design and direction but unable to transcend its obvious origins. Continue reading →
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