February 28, 2023 “12 Desperate Hours” (** out of four) was a perfunctory suspense melodrama about an overworked mother (Samatha Mathis) who finds herself and her children under siege in their own home when a murderer (Harrison Thomas) invades their house and threatens them all. Obvious rip-off of “Desperate Hours” right down to its title with little suspense or character development and thus not much to keep you involved. It’s nice to see Mathis on screen again but she can’t do much to enrich this tired material. Inauspicious directing debut for actress Gina Gershon. Continue reading →
February 28, 2023 “You Can’t Escape Me” (*1/2 out of four) was a feeble suspense thriller about a meek artist (Gina Vitori) who marries a seemingly perfect Mr. Charming (Alex Trumble) who turns out to be an abusive creep who will stop at nothing at controlling her and tracking her down even after she attempts to leave. It’s much easier to leave and “escape” the film instead. Thoroughly predictable storyline combined with some terrible acting turn this into a real chore to watch. For the same storyline with some tension and conviction, watch 1991’s “Sleeping With The Enemy” with Julia Roberts/Patrick Bergin instead. Continue reading →
February 27, 2023 “The Whale” (*** out of four) was a poignant story about a reclusive and morbidly obese older man (Brendan Fraser) and his realization that he is at the end of his life and he tries to reconnect with his stubborn and estranged teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) before it is too late. Fraser is simply magnificent in the best performance of his career and is equal parts heartbreaking and humorous and is aided by astonishingly real CGI and latex makeup; unfortunately the film lacks a dramatic arc as the story is too thin (no pun intended) and film’s ending is abrupt and corny. A great actors showcase if not exactly a great movie but still well-worth watching overall and in keeping with some of the past themes of alienation and redemption of director Darren Aronofsky’s past work. Continue reading →
February 27, 2023 “Jesse James: Unchained” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame Western about the legendary outlaw (John Bradley Hambrick) who escapes captivity and pairs up with a woman (Rachael Redolfi) he takes hostage and he attempts his last score before disappearing into the sunset. Many of the scenes look like they were shot in someone’s dilapidated backyard and the script and filming look like a production from high school. Seriously- is this the best they can do for a Western these days? Continue reading →
February 26, 2023 “Meteor: First Impact” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheesy disaster thriller about a scientist (Thom Hallum) who realizes it’s apocalypse now but no one believes him so he has to race against the clock to save the Earth from a series of deadly meteor attacks. Writer/director Brett Bentman throws in as many disaster-movie cliches as he can think of from “Independence Day” and especially “2012” but film is severely hindered by its lack of budget and effects. Hallum tries to whip up as much urgency as he can but this still should be gone from Redbox machines at the speed of a meteor. Continue reading →
February 26, 2023 “The Lost Husband” (** out of four) was a syrupy adaptation of Katherine Center’s novel about a recent widow (Leslie Bibb) who moves in with her aunt (Nora Dunn) on her goat farm and falls in love with her stubborn farm manager (Josh Huhammel). Heavy-handed and hokey drama feels like reheated Nicholas Sparks material but succeeds as far as it does thanks to it’s capable cast and Aaron Kovalchik’s pretty cinematography. Duhammel is likeable as usual but he needs to start picking edgier scripts and material. Continue reading →
February 26, 2023 “Devil’s Peak” (*1/2 out of four) was a grimy melodrama set in the Appalachian Mountains in which a young man (Hopper Penn) wants to leave his dead-end life of drugs and crime but this puts him at odds with his meth-dealing kingpin father (Billy Bob Thornton) which leads to an impending bloodbath. Unpleasant collection of rednecks and lowlifes and other swell folks. Thornton provides film’s only style as the sardonic kingpin. Robin Wright Penn is wasted as the young man’s mother and Hopper Penn played this same role- and better- in the much better recent “Signs Of Love”. Continue reading →
February 26, 2023 “Freeze” (*1/2 out of four) was a joyless sci/fi thriller about a grizzled captain (Rory Wilton) who leads his seafaring crew (Johnny Vivash, David Lenek, and others) on a voyage to the North Pole but soon realize they are under siege from mutant creatures aboard and they take refuge on a snowy mountain but find that the creatures are following them to the death. Tediously derivative of “Alien” and too many others to think of or mention and goes nowhere slowly. Charlie Steeds’ bleak cinematography is an undeniable standout but this otherwise belongs in the deep freeze. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “Die Hart” (*1/2 out of four) was a witless adaptation of the television series starring Kevin Hart as himself who wants to prove himself as a fearless action star and goes to “an action school” and meets with a group of instructors (John Travolta and Josh Hartnett) to transform himself and pull this off. One-joke idea and premise quickly runs out of steam, as unfunny writing and dumb in-jokes soon take over. You know you’re in trouble when the most clever part of the movie is its title! Hart is winning as usual but by this point he needs to start playing some different characters and picking some different scripts. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “The Strays” (*1/2 out of four) was a scattershot horror thriller about an upscale woman (Ashley Madekwe) whose well-insulated and privileged life with her husband (Justin Salinger) begins to crumble when two mysterious strangers (Jordan Myrie and Bukky Bakray) show up in her idyllic suburban town and start menacing her and force her to question the fabric of her own reality and sanity. Writer/director Nathaniel Martello-White throws in elements of “Get Out”, “The Stepford Wives”, and just about any other horror movie about the dark-side-of-suburbia but film is lackluster and lifeless. Madekwe’s is solid in the lead but film unfortunately leads her astray. Continue reading →
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