March 13, 2023 “Battle For Saipan” (** out of four) was a serviceable WWII melodrama set in the title battle in which a tough medic (Casper Van Dien) finds that the Japanese forces have overtaken his U.S. hospital and has to lead other soldiers (Louis Mandylor, Jeff Fahey, and others) to fight back and to safety. A “G.I. Joe” version of WWII with lots of jingoism, hand-to-hand combat, and gunfights but don’t look for anything regarding historical depth or writing profundity. Guess you wouldn’t expect much else from former heavy-metal singer and writer/director Brandon Slagle. Beware of Van Dien’s shifting Brooklyn accent. Continue reading →
March 12, 2023 “Champions” (*1/2 out of four) was a cliche-strewn “inspirational” sports drama about a stubborn minor-league basketball coach (Woody Harrelson) who gets busted for a D.W.I. arrest and accident and is sentenced to community service and coaching a team of young kids with disabilities. Naturally, they can’t seem to play at all at first but then…….Obvious cross-pollination of “The Mighty Ducks” combined with “Bad News Bears” combined with “Coach Carter”and virtually every other grumpy coach/sports underdog movie you can think of. Even Harrelson seems to be rehashing bits and pieces from other and better performances. A major disappointment from director Bobby Farrelly; this cannot come close to matching his and Harrelson’s previous sports collaboration “Kingpin.” Continue reading →
March 11, 2023 “65” (** out of four) was a middling sci/fi adventure story about an astronaut (Adam Driver) who crashlands on a mysterious planet but soon discovers that he is on Earth 65 million years ago and he finds another lone survivor (Ariana Greenblatt) and together they have to journey across an unknown terrain filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures in order to survive. Congenitally derivative story with some parts “Jurassic Park” and some parts “The New World” although the film this may remind you the most of is the Will Smith debacle “After Earth.” Film has some good action scenes and visual effects but is still something you’ve seen at least 65 times already by now. Continue reading →
March 11, 2023 “Scream VI” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall proficient horror sequel set in NYC and follows the main survivor from the previous entry (Melissa Barrera) and her friends and family and how they relocate after the Woodsboro murders but find that yet another homicidal murderer has donned the Ghostface persona and is on the loose. Has the requisite amount of scares, kills, and tongue-in-cheek humor that fans expect from this series and a few strong set pieces………but enough already! A definite improvement over the previous entry but this still bears the mark of a series past its freshness and expiration date. First in the series without scream queen Neve Campbell but Barrera more than holds her own in the lead. Continue reading →
March 11, 2023 “Missing” (** out of four) was a claustrophobic online psychodrama about a woman (Nia Long) who goes suddenly missing and her daughter (Storm Reid) attempts to track her down and find her using various tools online on her computer and from home but finds that the online web can be a very dark and mysterious place at times. Directors Nicholas Johnson and Will Merrick and star Reid do all they can to pump this up with intrigue and tension but the problem with these online/computer thrillers is they get unavoidably monotonous and limited after a while. After a while, what’s “missing” is spontaneity and variety and film gradually runs out of fuel. Continue reading →
March 11, 2023 “The Ritual Killer” (*1/2 out of four) was a bogus serial-killer melodrama about a grizzled detective (Cole Hauser) who is tracking a killer (Vernon Davis) who is practicing black magic rituals and he turns to an elderly professor of African studies (Morgan Freeman) for help. Mostly just unpleasant and by-the-numbers with a ridiculous and unsatisfying ending. Freeman is wasted in the movie and just seems to be cast to serve up memories of the much better “Kiss The Girls” and “Seven” which this movie all-too-obviously inspired. Hard to believe this was directed by George Gallo who in better days was the writer of “Midnight Run.” Continue reading →
March 10, 2023 “Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham” (**1/2 out of four) was an imperfect but entertaining entry set in 1920’s Gotham City in which an ancient evil is awoken and threatens to envelop and destroy the city and only the Dark Knight (voiced by David Giuntoli) can rise and save it. Film’s story and script are hard to follow and don’t always make sense but at least it moves fast and features enough action and colorful visuals. Opening animation scenes are a real wow. Not exactly the best of Batman’s catalogue but better and more fun than “The Batman” last year. Continue reading →
March 10, 2023 “The Killers Next Door” (* out of four) was an irredeemably awful thriller about 2 redneck criminals (David Pridemore and Michael Locicero) who are on the run and take refuge in a cabin in the woods with a nice couple (Rosanna Jimenez and Sean Carmichael) and they both have to fight each other- psychologically and physically- to stay alive. There’s not much to say about a psychodrama in which both the bad guys and good guys are unlikeable. Locicero also wrote, directed, and co-produced so he bears most of the blame for this unpleasant timewaster. Continue reading →
March 9, 2023 “Hunt Her, Kill Her” (*1/2 out of four) was a gory, one-note horror drama about a janitor (Natalie Terrazino) newly hired to work in a furniture factory who finds herself stalked to the death by a group of masked intruders and she attempts to hide and then turn the tables on them. Yet another stalk-and-slash horror show which quickly runs out of gas. Ryan Thiessen’s effective cinematography is definitely a highlight throughout but can’t give this much other distinction. Watch “Hunter Killer” for more thrills and scares instead. Continue reading →
March 9, 2023 “Deinfluencer” (* out of four) was a horrendous horror show that won’t develop any influence of its own about a cheerleader (Caylin Turner) who is kidnapped and imprisoned by a perverse sicko (Simon Phillips) who makes her film and humiliate herself through various social media but she begins to suspect that there may be more to this killer than meets the eye. Film mashes you in unpleasantness and ugliness for over an hour-and-a-half and the cheerleader is so unlikeable you might be rooting for the killer anyway; it’s movies like these that killed the horror genre until “Scream” revitalized it in the mid-90’s. Phillips also co-wrote and created the story. Continue reading →
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