September 18, 2023 “Murder Syndicate” (** out of four) was an uninspired action melodrama about the matriarch (Diane Robin) of a large crime family who suddenly falls ill leaving her empire in disarray and her various children (Steven Martini, Jessica Morris, and others) to wage brutal warfare as to who will take over. Action, brutality, and tough talk by-the-numbers in this half-hearted underworld thriller. Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham used to make movies like this in their sleep. Writer/director Michael Matteo Rossi has a minor part as a thug. Continue reading →
September 18, 2023 “Natty Knocks” (** out of four) was a mundane horror mystery about a single mother (Danielle Harris) and her children who struggle to survive a serial killer (Bill Moseley) disguised as a cop whose on the prowl on Halloween Eve. Mediocre film wastes the talents of horror icons Harris, Moseley, and also Robert Englund. Film reunites Harris with “Halloween 4” director Dwight H. Little but this film feels like a faint retread. Continue reading →
September 17, 2023 “The Retirement Plan” (** out of four) was a mostly lackluster action comedy about a young woman (Ashley Greene) who becomes embroiled in a criminal enterprise (Ron Pearlman, Jackie Earle Haley, and others) and turns to her retired dad (Nicholas Cage) and his friend (Ernie Hudson) for help to get her out and also swipe some of their money as well. Title is ironic given that film seems like little more than a paycheck and part of the “retirement plan” of a group of solid actors. Neither the best nor the worst of its type but you’ve seen it all before and much better. Continue reading →
September 17, 2023 “Lust, Lies, And Polygamy” (** out of four) was a strenuously obvious suspense melodrama about a woman (Alicia S. Mason) who seemingly has the perfect life with the perfect husband (Tremayne Norris) but comes to realize he is involved in sinister wrongdoings when away on business forcing her reality to come crashing down to the ground. Thoroughly predictable and routine story although it’s well-lit and well-mounted by director Amy Barrett and cinematographer Thomas L. Callaway. Still, viewers may want to watch “Sex, Lies, And Videotape” again instead. Continue reading →
September 16, 2023 “Kidnapping In The Grand Canyon” (** out of four) was a fairly derivative survival melodrama about two friends (Gina Vitori and Katrina Rosita) who go hiking in the Grand Canyon and meet a hiking guide (Phillip Boyd) who takes both of them captive and they have to fight him and the forces of nature to escape. Beautifully shot by Jordan Gzesh but otherwise pat and predictable; film is outshown by similarly themed “127 Days”, “Into The Wild”, and “Wilderness.” Mild directorial debut effort from music video director Derek Pike. Continue reading →
September 16, 2023 “Elevator Game” (*1/2 out of four) was a hokey horror thriller in which various friends (Nazairy Demkowicz, Liam Stewart-Kanigan, Adam Hurtig, and others) engage in the title game which takes its players to another dimension using a set of rules that can be found online but they all start to realize this results in them dying one-by-one. Allegedly based on an online reality game but seems more like reheated and rehashed horror elements from too many other past movies. For a movie about an elevator, it takes viewers straight down instead of up. Continue reading →
September 16, 2023 “It Lives Inside” (** out of four) was a middling horror psychodrama about a young teenager (Megan Suri) struggling with her cultural identity who has a falling out with her friends and family and unwittingly unleashes a demon that preys upon her loneliness and emotional vulnerability but threatens her security and sanity. Stylishly told at times by writer/director Bishal Dutta who looks at standard horror elements from a different cultural and community point of view……..but at the end these are still standard horror elements and as a result film doesn’t add up to much. Watch “It” (chapters 1 or 2 or both) instead. Continue reading →
September 15, 2023 “Vanished: Searching For My Sister” (** out of four) was a languid mystery melodrama about a woman (Tatyana Ali) whose twin sister disappears and after being stalled by the police- she takes matters into her own hands and disguises herself as her sister and immerses herself into her sister’s world of drugs and crime to find out what really happened to her. Intriguing storyline of a sister assuming another’s identity is told in pretzel-time logic that recalls Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” but is overall sordid and soggy. Ali once again proves she’s a credible actress but this one will likely “vanish” from Redbox machines within a few weeks. Continue reading →
September 14, 2023 “Mega Ape” (0 stars out of four) was a mega-awful horror comedy about a genetically engineered ape who escapes from a top-secret research facility and runs rampant in Hollywood while various environmentalists and law enforcement figures (Tom Sizemore, Bai Ling, Mel Nowak, and others) try to track him down. The kind of movie that makes the 1998 version of “Godzilla” and “Mighty Joe Young” look like Oscar fare by comparison. Incredibly cheap-looking in terms of effects and cinematography and stupid and boring on its own terms. Sadly, this was allegedly Sizemore’s final completed film but he’s wasted in only a few scenes. Continue reading →
September 14, 2023 “Bone Cold” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately well-done melodrama about an experienced Black Ops soldier (Jonathan Stoddard) who goes out on one final mission with another sniper (Matt Munroe) but soon find they are being tracked by enemy soldiers and have to utilize all their psychological and personal skills to stay alive in the midst of the frigid cold. Intriguing story has crisp cinematography by Ben Meredith on beautiful locations and is certainly well-acted but just misses and can’t measure up to “American Sniper” and other similar films about snipers and combat. Continue reading →
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