November 12, 2022 “Fatal Influence” (0 stars out of four) was an absolutely worthless horror thriller that looks like it was made by people under the influence; a social media messiah (John Glover) assembles a variety of internet personalities (Irene Rising, Rob Campbell, and others) to take part in a dangerous game of which no one knows the meaning until it’s all over. Believe me, you won’t be able to wait until “it’s all over” almost as soon as film starts although to call this a “film” would be a stretch since it looks like someone’s poorly recorded cell-phone videos. Vertigo-inducing camerawork is especially annoying but then so is almost all the shrill acting and dialogue. Don’t make the near “fatal” mistake of wasting your time on this drivel. Continue reading →
November 12, 2022 “Bar Fight” (*1/2 out of four) was a witless romantic comedy about a couple (Melissa Fumaro and Luka Jones) who break up and decide to split everything that they had but start to bicker when they have to sort out who will have “custody” of their beloved bar that they have together. Generic comedy feels like it was spit out of a sitcom computer except “Cheers” told a similar story with far more laughs (and better drinks) about 40 years ago. By the end of this misfire, you may wish you had gone to an A.A. meeting instead. Continue reading →
November 12, 2022 “A Savannah Haunting” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster horror thriller about a married couple (William Mark McCullough and Tommi Rose) whose daughter dies in a tragic drowning accident and they move to Savannah only to be (yawn) haunted by her presence in their new home. Allegedly inspired by true events but seems inspired even more by “Paranormal Activity” and “The Amityville Horror” and also “Poltergeist”; why filmmakers continue to rip those movies off constantly is the real mystery. McCullough also wrote, directed, and co-produced. Continue reading →
November 11, 2022 “Swim Instructor Nightmare” (** out of four) was a pedestrian suspense thriller about a psychotic swim instructor (Sydney Hamm) who is hired by a family (CJ Hammond and Shellie Sterling) to teach their young daughter (Kiarra Beasley) how to swim but realize too-little/too-late that she is a sociopath/psychopath intent on taking over the household. Overall efficient filmmaking and a strong lead performance from Hamm can’t keep film from drowning in its own predictability and plot cliches. Final showdown is especially weak. Watch “Swimfan” instead. Continue reading →
November 10, 2022 “Run Sweetheart Run” (*1/2 out of four) was a genuinely bizarre melodrama about a young woman (Ella Balinska) who goes out on a date with a seemingly nice guy (Pilou Asbaek) who turns out to be a sicko who attempts to hunt her down and kill her and she has to run for her life throughout a deadly maze of a city until she decides enough-is-enough and she decides to hunt and kill him! Film attempts to mix elements of Kubrickian horror and Tarantino psychedelic action and suspense but the result is surreal and ugly. Filmed in 2019 and then re-edited and re-filed with additional scenes, to not much avail. Not to be confused with “Run Lola Run” despite similar title and almost the exact same movie poster. Continue reading →
November 10, 2022 “The Good Witch Of Christmas” (*1/2 out of four) was a sorry sequel to last year’s “Christmas Thieves” which I don’t think anyone was exactly writing letters to Santa asking for a follow-up; this time around, the two bumbling thieves (William Baldwin and Tom Arnold) are babysitting two kids while their parents are out shopping but their parents accidentally get into an accident with Santa and scare off his reindeer (!) and it’s up to the Good Witch (Katie McGovern) to save the day. The kind of movie that gives the term “Christmas movie” a bad name. As with the original- there’s animated interludes and plenty of slapstick but it all adds up to one long humbug. Holiday fans would best watch “Scrooge” for something more uplifting and cheerful. Continue reading →
November 10, 2022 “Revenge Delivered” (*1/2 out of four) was a plastic and plodding suspense melodrama about an established doctor (Olunike Adeliyi) whose facility starts having multiple suspicious occurrences and she soon starts to suspect that one of her residents (Samantha Brown) may be the daughter of someone from her past and is out to wreck havoc and revenge. If you can’t guess this entire movie from the first 10-15 minutes, you really need to get out more often. Hard to believe this was directed by Bill Corcoran who directed a majority of the episodes of “Wiseguy.” Return this one to sender. Continue reading →
November 8, 2022 “Bridge Of The Doomed” (** out of four) was a more-of-the-same apocalyptic zombie gorefest about a group of soldiers (Kate Watson, Robert LaSardo, Michael Pare, and others) who are ordered to hold a bridge during a worldwide zombie outbreak but soon find that the bloodthirsty creatures underneath the bridge spell even more deadly trouble. Fast-paced enough and with enough zombie gore to satisfy genre fans but covers so much familiar territory (really- I mean how many more movies can they make about zombie outbreaks?) that film leaves you with a sense of deja vu. LaSardo has one of his best roles in years as a tough but sympathetic general and some of the makeup F/X are good. Continue reading →
November 8, 2022 “Matriarch” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller about a woman (Jemima Cooper) who survives a drug overdose and is then afflicted with a mysterious illness and subsequently returns to her childhood home to reflect on her life and confront her personal demons but instead comes face-to-face with a real demonic horror instead. Film attempts to deal with serious elements of drug addiction, repressed childhood memories, and PTSD but results are gloomy and boring. Cooper does what she can with a one-note role. Originally titled “Wormeater.” Continue reading →
November 6, 2022 “Black Adam” (*** out of four) was a slickly done DC Comics adaptation about the title character (Dwayne Johnson) who was bestowed 5,000 years ago with the powers from the Egyptian Gods and is unleashed from his tomb and tries to instill his own sense of justice on the world which is crumbling before his eyes. Packed with razzle-dazzle visual effects and action scenes that fans expect from DC/Marvel movies; a bit more style and action than substance at times but never stops entertaining and giving you your money’s worth. Pierce Brosnan is well-cast as Doctor Fate in a key supporting role. As usual, stay with this through the end-credits sequence. Continue reading →
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