February 5, 2024 “Story Ave” (*1/2 out of four) was a syrupy, preachy melodrama about a young inner-city hoodlum (Asante Blackk) who runs away from home and holds up an MTA worker (Luis Guzman) but they form an unexpected bond together and the worker becomes a father figure to him that could change his life. Earnest and well-intentioned story is also contrived and maudlin and rings false. Guzman is solid as usual but even his effortless charisma can’t make this a “story” worth watching. Continue reading →
February 5, 2024 “Bosco” (** out of four) was a superficial biographical drama of Quantay “Bosco” Adams (Aubrey Joseph) sentenced to federal prison for marijuana possession and meets a woman (Nikki Blonsky) from a lonelyhearts ad who helps him to escape but he soon realizes that he must face up to the responsibility and consequences of his actions and returns to finish up his prison sentence and become a motivational speaker for his community. Well-intentioned movie doesn’t provide much insight or information on main characters and thus covers overly familiar terrain. Solid supporting cast including Thomas Jane, Tyrese Gibson, and Vivica Fox aren’t given enough to do. Continue reading →
February 5, 2024 “Taken In Montana” (*1/2 out of four) was a flaccid suspense thriller about a teenager (Veronica Ramirez) whose parents (Justin Berti and Laurie Fortier) go missing and she has to piece together what happened and why. Eye-candy cinematography from Nick Albert is the only asset to this meandering and meaningless film. Allegedly based on true events but seems derived from far too many other run-of-the-mill thrillers. Continue reading →
February 5, 2024 “Calamity Jane” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp pile of Western cliches about the title character (Emily Bett Rickards) whose long-term partner Wild Bill (Stephen Amell) dies and she breaks out of prison and is pursued to the death by a dogged sheriff (Tim Rozon). Opening scenes with Darren Fung’s stirring Muzak score promise a grandeur that film doesn’t achieve as it becomes slapdash and sluggish. Rickards tries in the lead role but Ellen Barkin was a livelier Jane in Walter Hill’s 1995 “Wild Bill.” Continue reading →
February 4, 2024 “In Its Wake” (* out of four) was a startlingly awful horror thriller about a former minister (Robert Notman) and various businessmen and townsfolk (Kenneh Bemister, Paige Foskett, Damien Doepping, and others) who are besieged by (yawn) an ancient evil that threatens to engulf and encompass the entire town. Yet another piece of low-budget junk allegedly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft; if more timewasters like this get made, it may “wake” him up from his ancient grave. Low-grade all the way through. Filmed in only 11 days but you’re unlikely to remember this 11 days after watching. Continue reading →
February 3, 2024 “Arbor Demon” (*1/2 out of four) was a grueling horror thriller about a couple (Fiona Dourif and Kevin Ryan) who go on a camping trip to try and repair their damaged relationship; while out in the wilderness, they take in a wounded stranger (Jake Busey) and find that an unknown evil is taking out all nearby hunters and wildlife and they need to decipher whether the evil is real or in their minds. Passable beginning with shades of “The Blair Witch Project” and “Evil Dead 2” soon fizzles as film becomes muddled, pretentious, and dull. Continue reading →
dlepikcom 