March 25, 2023 “Johnny And Clyde” (* out of four) was a perfectly awful suspense potboiler about the title pair of thieves (Avan Jogia and Ajani Russell) who set their sights on robbing a high-end casino under the domination of a criminal princess (a facelifted Megan Fox) who vows to fight back at all costs. Repellant story filled with unpleasant characters and violence and director Tom DeNucci’s in-your-face direction is no help. You know you’re in trouble when the most clever aspect of the film is it’s title! The talented Bai Ling has a minor role but let’s just be nice and say this likely will not have the long-lasting mesmeric power of “The Crow.” Continue reading →
March 24, 2023 “Camp Murder” (* out of four) was an inept timewaster about a group of friends (Callie Russell, Josh Bzura, Rachel Beck, and others) who venture off to a camp for a nice getaway but soon find out that (yawn) a masked slasher is on the loose and won’t give up until all of them are dead. Supposed throwback to ’80’s slasher classics instead seems like a really bad movie from the ’80’s, with filmmaking and acting that can only liberally be described as amateur hour. It’s movies like this that make the original “Friday The 13th” look like Masterpiece Theater by comparison. Continue reading →
March 24, 2023 “The Stalking Fields” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismal action melodrama about a group of friends (Sean Crampton, Nora Garrett, and others) who find themselves in the midst of a military Special Ops program by a group of violent sadists (led by Adam Harrington) to cure PTSD and eradicate anyone who comes in their way. Howlingly bad dialogue is made even worse by overripe acting and low-grade filmmaking. It’s bad movies like these that are enough to give someone PTSD in the first place. Watch “The Killing Fields” instead. Continue reading →
March 23, 2023 “Guns Of Eden” (** out of four) was an empty action potboiler about a young woman and ex-cop (Alexandria Faye Sadeghian) who is out on a camping trip when an armed militia (Tim Ohearn, Jessica Zwolak, and others) attempt to take over the campgrounds in an attempt to uncover drug loot and kill anyone in their path and she has to put her former police and military skills to the test to the survive. Promising beginning with some sharp and snappy dialogue soon dissipates as film devolves into a “Die Hard” in the woods without much originality. Film won awards at both the Buffalo and Worcester film festivals but it’s a half-cocked gun at best. Continue reading →
March 23, 2023 “House Of Deadly Lies” (*1/2 out of four) was a paper-thin, predictable thriller about a stay-at-home mom (Katy Breier) who takes in her struggling best friend (Chris Adams) who turns out to be a nutjob sociopath who tries to invade every aspect of her life and turn her life upside down. Laughably obvious at every turn and grows increasingly illogical especially towards the end. Yet another Lifetime thriller that seems prefabricated and churned out of a rusty machine. Continue reading →
March 22, 2023 “Boston Strangler” (*** out of four) was a crackling suspense melodrama based on the true story of two female reporters (Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon) who investigated the brutal killings of the title murderer in 1960’s Boston and risked their careers and lives in showcasing the botched police work involved and took it upon themselves to track him down and end his reign of terror. Exceedingly well-crafted script in the vein of investigative news classics “All The President’s Men” and “Spotlight” and enhanced by stellar work by its two leads but stops just short of hitting the bullseye mark. Chris Cooper, Robert John Burke, and Alessandro Nivola round out the gripping supporting cast; one of film’s producers was Ridley Scott. Continue reading →
March 19, 2023 “Leave” (** out of four) was a muddled horror melodrama about a young woman (Alicia von Rittberg) who was abandoned as a child and tries to find her origins and her family but finds that this may lead to a far more darker origination than she could have imagined and this in turn leads to an alteration and perception of her current reality. Well-directed by Alex Herron and atmospherically lensed by Sjur Aarthun but this cannot camouflage story and script’s emptiness at its core and its obvious derivations from other films (especially “The Shining.”). Von Riitberg is rock-solid in the lead but you’d best “leave” this after about a half-hour. Continue reading →
March 19, 2023 “Supercell” (*1/2 out of four) was a super-derivative action thriller about a young man (Daniel Diemer) who runs away to seek out his father (Skeet Ulrich) and becomes enveloped with him and another storm chaser (Alec Baldwin) as a deadly tornado is in their path and threatens to tear a hole right through the heartland. Diemer is blank in the lead and Ulrich and Baldwin aren’t much better; film takes forever to finally get going and when it does the finale literally looks like outtakes from “Twister” and also “Hard Rain.” Anne Heche has a minor throwaway role in one of her final film appearances. Continue reading →
March 18, 2023 “Shazam: Fury Of The Gods” (*** out of four) was a superior sequel to the 2009 DC comic adaptation about the continued adventures of teenage Billy Batson (Zachary Levi) who is turned into his adult alter-ego of Shazam and battles it out with the Daughters Of Atlas (Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler) with the fate of the world as we know it at stake. 12th installment in the DC film universe is fun for fans as it maintains a zippy pace and features some showstopping visual effects and action scenes. Gal Gadot has a welcome cameo at the end as Wonder Woman and director David F. Sandberg has a small cameo in the middle. Continue reading →
March 17, 2023 “Blue Jean” (** out of four) was a diffuse melodrama set in 1988 in England in which the government under Margaret Thatcher passed a law stigmatizing those in the lesbian and gay community; one such teacher (Rosy McEwen) attempts to hide the fact that she is gay and is forced to live a double life until one of her student finds out and threatens to expose her. Provocative and audacious subject matter holds your attention initially but is too wan and remote to achieve the impact it needs. McEwen’s strong performance is a definite plus but that doesn’t mean you care about her character all that much. Continue reading →
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