Month: May 2023

“Dead Shot” (** out of four) was a detached action suspense thriller set in 1970’s London in which a retired Irish paramilitary (Colin Morgan) witnesses the murder of his wife by an SAS officer (Ami Ameen) and escapes and takes it to the streets on a one-man army of vengeance against him and the SAS as a whole who target him for extinction. Atmospherically lensed by Mattias Rudh on good locations in Edinburgh, Scotland but result is overall unsatisfying as film never really congeals and comes together as a whole. Based on Dr. Steven P. Moysey’s book “The Road To Balcombe Street” which was famous for its anti-sentiments involving the I.R.A. but the film version is mostly half-cocked.

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“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” (*** out of four) was a tender documentary about the life and career of Michael J. Fox who had a meteoric rise to success- and excess- in the ’80’s but subsequently found that his greatest and most courageous battle lay ahead when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and he started a historic foundation for research that has raised billions. Well put together by director Davis Guggenheim and very well edited by Michael Harte but the most moving work is from Fox himself who is alternately humorous and heartbreaking in discussing the ongoing effects of his life-altering disease.

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“Colonials” (*1/2 out of four) was a junior-high version of “Star Wars”,”Blade Runner”, and just about every other future-action thriller you can think of about a space colonist (Greg Kriek) who crashlands on Earth to save the planet from an advanced Moon enforcer (Sean Kanan) who wants to wipe out the planet to extinction but doesn’t foresee the widespread resistance (Daniel Roebuck, Jamie Bernadette, and others) he will encounter. Much of the video-game like effects look like something from a 90’s CD-ROM and script and storytelling are threadbare. Sad to see talented one-time 80/s/90’s rising stars Kanan and Roebuck in this direct-to-DVD schlock.

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“The Mother” (** out of four) was a misbegotten action melodrama about a retired C.I.A. assassin (Jennifer Lopez) who comes out of retirement and hiding when she finds that her daughter (Lucy Paez) is being threatened and she has to defeat various long-lost villains to protect both of their lives. Well-made and well-acted movie is also hollow and overlong; Lopez is rock-solid as always but this story worked better decades ago with Matt Damon and the “Bourne” series. Ben Seresin’s exquisite cinematography is a definite asset throughout.

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“The Best Man” (** out of four) was a lazy action potboiler about mercenaries who seize control over a hotel and wedding reception and it’s up to the best man (Luke Wilson), the groom (Brendan Fuhrer), and their drunken best friend (Dolph Lundgren) to save the day and thwart them so everyone can get on with the wedding and eat, drink, and be merry. Very predictable and by-the-numbers “Die Hard” ripoff starts well enough but ironically fizzles when the terrorists take over, just when it ought to start sizzling. Nice to see Lundgren back in action especially in light of his recent cancer diagnosis but this is hardly the “best” of his efforts.

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“House Of Inequity” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless horror thriller about a group of friends (Todd Leigh, Parker Little, Brittany Bell, and others) who investigate an abandoned house and find themselves trapped there- physically and psychologically- as they all have to face their own fears and battle their own psyches to outwit one another and stay alive. Mixture of elements from “House” and “Saw” doesn’t provide much voltage in the way of shocks or scares or surprises for even the most jaded horror fan. “House Of Cliches” would have been a better title for this timewaster.

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“A Gift Of Murder” (** out of four) was a fairly trite suspense thriller about a 16-year old (Bailey Bass) who transfers to a new school and immediately locks horns with the school’s reigning mean-girl (Courtney Lauren Cummings) who will stop at nothing to enact revenge on her, even if it means duplicity and murder. Imagine “Mean Girls” redone as a basic and predictable suspense story and you probably have an idea on what to expect from the proceedings. Decent acting and filmmaking can’t breathe much life into film’s tired story and plot gimmicks. Another thriller made for those who’ve never seen many before.

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“Condor’s Nest” (** out of four) was a muddled war melodrama set during the decade after the fall of Nazi Germany in which an idealistic American aviator (Jackson Rathbone) travels to South America in search of war criminals and finds himself in over his head as he encounters various members of the community (Arnold Vosloo, Michael Ironside, Bruce Davison) and finds he doesn’t know who he can trust. Interesting subject matter harks back to Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards” except that was a film done with a decent amount of wit and style, whereas this one is scattershot and drab. Some props and war planes used in this film were originally made and developed for 1990’s “Memphis Belle.”

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“Mafia Mamma” (*1/2 out of four) was a numbskull action comedy about a suburban mom (Toni Collette) who unexpectedly finds out that she inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy and has to defy everyone’s expectations including her own as she travels to Italy to start up her new family business. Ill-conceived light-hearted comedy about the mob runs out of ammo and laughs pretty soon, despite Collette’s best efforts. Mafia completists and comedy fans should say arrivederci to this clunker and watch “Married To The Mob” or even “The Freshman” instead.

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