June 30, 2024 “In A Violent Nature” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable horror thriller about a rotting corpse (Ry Barrett) who somehow comes back to life intent on reclaiming a lost locket and will slaughter and dismember anyone who gets in his way. This all worked better when it was a guy named Jason and the series was called “Friday The 13th.” Pretty gruesome at times but other than that pretty much a waste of time. Mostly filmed in 2021 and then re-edited and re-shot to no avail. Continue reading →
June 29, 2024 “Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home” (**1/2 out of four) was a passable suspense melodrama about a compassionate doctor (Amanda Schull) who moves back to her hometown but her seemingly perfect life is disrupted when a new patient dies and she is drawn into a web of investigation and murder involving a police detective (Brendan Penny) with whom she becomes romantically involved. Best thing about the movie is Schull whose strong and sincere performance helps you overlook story holes but it gets progessively sillier before it’s overheated climax. Continue reading →
June 29, 2024 “A Quiet Place: Day One” (*1/2 out of four) was a maddeningly dull continuation of the series set in NYC about a woman (Lupita Nyong’o) who finds herself in the midst of an alien invasion by unearthly creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing and she struggles to survive in the city. Allegedly a prequel to part II and not a follow-up but who cares? There’s still precious little excitement or interest from a story in which there is hardly any dialogue or action. Series fans (I’m not) may like this better but for others it’s well…..too quiet. Continue reading →
June 29, 2024 “Blackwater Lane” (** out of four) was a meandering horror melodrama about a woman (Minka Kelly) who drives by a stranded motorist who she later learns is murdered and this sets off a chain of events that worry her concerned husband (Dermot Mulroney) and her best friend (Maggie Grace) and lead to an investigation from the police (led by Natalie Simpson) who believe she is connected to the murder. Overlong and overbaked as it goes over overly familiar territory although decent performances and filmmaking help to keep it marginally watchable. Based on B.A. Paris’ novel “The Breakdown”. Continue reading →
June 29, 2024 “Hard Home” (**1/2 out of four) was a tense, hard-boiled action melodrama about a mother (Simone Kessell) whose daughter was recently murdered and lured her killer (Andrew Howard) into a brutal game of cat-and-mouse in which only one can survive. Fast-paced and skillfully done but doesn’t quite hang together for feature length. Still overall worthwhile and good of its kind. Fourth film this year from director James Bramford. Continue reading →
June 29, 2024 “Wake” (*1/2 out of four) was an ironically titled yawner about a struggling actress (Fivel Stewart) who tracks down the star (Jake Holley) of a movie she hopes will be remade but discovers dark secrets that threaten her sanity and safety. Potentially intriguing story of irony and film exploration is completely undone by molasses pacing and flat filmmaking. Stewart does what she can in the lead. Continue reading →
June 28, 2024 “Strictly Confidential” (** out of four) was a strictly mundane erotic thriller about a young woman (Georgia Lock) who returns to the Carribean to uncover details about the suicide of her best friend (Lauren McQueen) and is drawn into an erotic affair with another woman (a facelifted Elizabeth Hurley who looks here almost like Lindsay Lohan) and various other mysteries. Gorgeously shot by George Burt on stunning Carribean locations but otherwise by-the-numbers and banal. Directed by Hurley’s son Damian who looks as if he cut his teeth on the “Red Shoe Diaries”. Continue reading →
June 27, 2024 “The Girl In The Trunk” (**1/2 out of four) was a fairly engrossing suspense potboiler about a kidnapped bride (Katharina Sporrer) who wakes up trapped in a trunk with poisonous wildlife and has to desperately attempt to contact the outside world to stay alive. Initially very suspenseful and compelling and anchored firm by a strong lead performance from Sporrer although it starts to lose its way before its finish as it gets more conventional. Still, good of its kind and better than average. Very much in a similar vein to “The Call” and “Trunk: Locked In.” Continue reading →
June 26, 2024 “Arctic Armageddon” (** out of four) was an arbitrary sci/fi melodrama about an earthquake which hits the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and the world starts to freeze over and cities fall into chaos which leads to a group of scientists (Patrick Labyorteaux, Lindsey Marie Wilson, and others) trying to figure out to raise the world’s temperature to prevent the next Ice Age. Not bad and decently produced on a low budget but too derivative to make much of an impression. Continue reading →
June 23, 2024 “What Happens In Miami” (** out of four) was a stylish but empty teen thriller about a group of friends (Rachel Leryco, Annalisa Cochrane, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, and others) who go on Spring Break and one of them goes missing and they find themselves the prime suspects. Not the worst of its disreputable ilk and remains watchable throughout but is too unoriginal and uninspired to make a mark. Enough with movies by now about spring breakers getting into trouble. Continue reading →
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