July 31, 2024 “Starve Acre” (*1/2 out of four) was a joyless horror story about a family (Matt Smith, Morfydd Clark, Arthur Shaw, Erin Richards) that are thrown into disarray when the son starts acting demented. Prosaic story moves like molasses and even looks drab and dull; good performances are unable to give this any pulse or life. Final 10 minutes finally deliver some jolts but it’s hardly worth sticking around till then. Continue reading →
July 31, 2024 “Dead Sea” (*1/2 out of four) was a lethargic suspense thriller about a young woman (Isabel Gravitt) and her friends (Genneya Walton and Audriana Volken) who are stranded at sea and are picked up by a group of boatmen (Dean Cameron and Alexander Wraith) but soon realize they have been kidnapped and sold in potential sex slavery and have to fight back to survive. Plodding and familiar story doesn’t have enough scares or tension to make it remotely worthwhile. Nice to see Cameron again but clunkers like this make you think he should have stayed in “Summer School.” Watch “Dead Calm” again instead. Continue reading →
July 29, 2024 “The Last Breath” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring suspense thriller about a group of friends (Alexander Arnold, Kim Spearman, Julian Sands, and others) who go on a Caribbean scuba trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII ship but find themselves besieged by a group of killer sharks. Nothing at all that “Jaws” (or some of its sequels) did and did better years ago. Good-looking cinematography from Eric Bourjeson is the only highlight throughout. Sadly, this was “the last” film from cult actor Sands. Continue reading →
July 28, 2024 “Alien Apocalypse” (*1/2 out of four) was a dishearteningly derivative sci/fi thriller about a spaceship that returns to Earth carrying deadly samples that threaten to wipe out mankind and various scientists and military personnel (Michael Pare, Paul Logan, Christina Rose, and others) try to race against the clock to prevent worldwide destruction. Cheesy story made by those who watched “Independence Day” far too many times; not even the action scenes or visual effects can help this one much. Does Pare get paid for essentially playing the same role in all these movies lately? Continue reading →
July 28, 2024 “America Is Sinking” (** out of four) was an unexceptional disaster melodrama about the melting of the polar ice caps which results in massive earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis throughout the country while various scientists and military personnel (Michael Pare, Johnny Pacar, Lindsey Marie Wilson, and others) scramble to save the world. Competently made with some good visual effects shots of floods and storms but even those (and many story elements) are borrowed from “Deep Impact.” Pare is wasted in a role that requires him mostly on the phone in his umpteenth role as a general. Continue reading →
July 28, 2024 “Twin Lies” (** out of four) was a slick but sordid suspense thriller about a woman (Nicole Peters) who assumes the identity of her sister (Lauren Peters) for an escorting gig but things go haywire when the date (Shaun Benson) turns out to be a sicko who targets them both. Stylishly told and directed but you soon realize that story is pretty much leading nowhere and becomes increasingly arbitrary and unseemly. Watch “Twin Peaks” instead. Continue reading →
July 27, 2024 “Super Icyclone” (** out of four) was a pretty mediocre disaster thriller about a climatologist (Brigitte Kingsley) who has to curtail her anniversary celebration when she learns it’s apocalypse now and a destructive storm is about to ravage through all of North America. Compendium of cliches from “2012”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, and “Twister” made for those who never saw any of those beforehand. Not bad but you’ve seen it all before and will again and done better. Visual effects are decent and provide film’s main lift. Continue reading →
July 27, 2024 “Deadpool And Wolverine” (*** out of four) was a breezy action thriller about the grizzled Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who is recovering from life-threatening injuries and is paired with the vigilante Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and they bicker-and-fight but come to unite as one as they try to prevent a megalomaniac (Matthew Macfadyen) from yielding worldwide destruction. 34th film in the Marvel universe makes all the right moves to entertain its action audience and is peppered with great soundtrack selections and (as usual) cameos from other Marvel characters. Great to see Jackman back in a role he originated more than 20 years ago and ditto for Wesley Snipes returning as Blade! Continue reading →
July 27, 2024 “The Girl In The Pool” (*1/2 out of four) was an almost incoherent suspense melodrama about a family man (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) who has a surprise birthday party and has to scramble to hide the corpse of his dead mistress (Brielle Barbusca) while his wife (Monica Potter) and her father (Kevin Pollak) start to have their suspicions. Disjointed and disheveled movie aspires to be Hitchcock but director Dakota Gorman simply isn’t at his level and film drowns in its own unpleasantness. Both Pollak and Potter are wasted and Prinze, Jr. is bland as usual. Continue reading →
July 26, 2024 “Crumb Catcher” (** out of four) was a twisted black comedy about a newlywed couple (Rigo Garay and Ella Rae Peck) who are held hostage in a remote lake house by a loony inventor (John Speredakos looking a little like Trent Reznor) and his loonier wife (Lorraine Ferris) in desperation to finance their lifelong dream project. Very macabre and bizarre movie has some original touches of dark humor but is too sour and over-the-top. Many critics praised this movie so obviously it’s a matter of taste. Continue reading →
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