July 22, 2024 “Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earth Part Three” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall fun continuation of the series about the various members of Justice League (voiced by Jensen Ackles, Gideo Adlon, Matt Bomer, and others) who have to unite again to come together to face off against the Anti-Monitor who threatens Earth and promises worldwide destruction. Third entry in the series is mostly for fans and is pretty much on par with previous entries but has enough colorful animation and action to make it entertaining. Final voice-role for Kevin Conroy before his death in 2022. Continue reading →
July 22, 2024 “Hellhounds” (** out of four) was a pretty generic horror melodrama about the title group of werewolves who wage war against a group of werewolf hunters called the Silver Bullets (Nathaniel Burns, Cameron Kotecki, and others) leading to a bloodbath in which no one is safe. Not the worst of its kind and moves along fairly quickly but hindered by a low budget and lack of originality. Takes obvious inspiration from 1985’s “Silver Bullet” but lacks that film’s conviction and inspiration. Continue reading →
July 21, 2024 “Dead Whisper” (** out of four) was an obtuse suspense melodrama about an unscrupulous lawyer (Samuel Dunning) who has a crisis of conscience and is drawn to a mysterious island in the hopes of resurrecting and reconnecting with his deceased daughter (Samantha Hill) but finds that his soul, his serenity, and his sanity are all slipping away in the process. Moodily shot and made and you keep hoping that picture will lead somewhere but it doesn’t, and turns out to be one more derivation (i.e. ripoff) of “The Shining.” Continue reading →
July 21, 2024 “The Caregiver” (*1/2 out of four) was a vapid horror thriller about the title caregiver (Ciara Kovacic) who is hired to attend to a senile old woman (Lis Fernandez) but soon realizes that all is not what it appears as strange occurrences begin happening throughout the house. Molasses-moving movie is laughably solemn and sorely lacking in any humor or scares to liven up the party. For no apparent reason, film is set 1989; for no apparent reason should you watch the film either. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “A Sacrifice” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless collection of horror cliches about a social psychologist (Eric Bana) who is investigating strange phenomena connected to disturbing events; meanwhile his daughter (Sadie Sink) becomes enmeshed with a local boy (Jonas Dassler) who spells nothing but trouble. Film goes nowhere slowly and then devolves into over-the-top cerebral preposterousness in its final third. Ridley Scott was one of film’s co-producers but in no way is this worth “sacrificing” your own time on. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “Rendel: Cycle Of Revenge” (**1/2 out of four) was a sleek follow-up to the 2017 cult hit about a ruthless enforcer (Sean Cronin) who takes over the Vala Drug Corporation and the title vigilante (Kristoffer Gummerus) returns to business and re-opens his weaponry to take him down by any means necessary. Mostly routine and mechanical and doesn’t have any dramatic soul but has enough martial arts and gunplay to please fans of the original and action fans in general. Tero Saikonnen’s eye-candy cinematography is an undeniable standout throughout. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “Lumina” (** out of four) was an overlong, overly derivative sci/fi shock thriller about four friends (Emily Hall, Andrea Tivadar, and others) who search for their friend who has been abducted which takes them from various U.S. deserts to the sands of Sahara and brings them in contact with evil and otherworldly forces. Writer/director Gino McKoy shows some colorful talent and film is well-lensed and produced but outwears its welcome and wears thin at two hours. Eric Roberts picks up a couple of bucks in another token cameo role. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “The Blue Rose” (**1/2 out of four) was an initially enrapturing melodrama about two rookie detectives (Olivia Scott Welch and George Baron) who attempt to solve a homicide but wind up in an alternate reality made up of their worst dreams and nightmares and have to come to terms with their new reality in order to escape. Writer/director/star Baron works in a hallucinatory style obviously inspired by David Lynch (and “Blue Velvet” in particular)………but like some of Lynch’s work, it veers off after a while and becomes overly weird and pretentious and doesn’t fully recover. Still, film has enough dazzling stylistics and macabre touches to make Baron someone to keep your eye on. Continue reading →
July 19, 2024 “Murder Company” (**1/2 out of four) was a modestly well-done WWII melodrama set in the midst of the D-Day invasion in which a group of American soldiers (Kelsey Grammer, William Moseley, Joe Anderson, and others) are given orders to smuggle a soldier of the French resistance (Gilles Marini) behind enemy lines to help them assassinate a Nazi leader (Roman Schomburg). Undeniably limited in scope and grandeur due to its low budget but packs enough action and intrigue to make it worthwhile for history buffs. Grammer is especially commanding as the U.S. army general. Continue reading →
July 19, 2024 “Deadbolt” (** out of four) was a thuddingly predictable suspense thriller about a young woman (Rebecca Liddiard) who starts to lose her sanity as she meets a new guy (Jamie Spilchuk) and encounters a series of unexplained disappearances and chilling nocturnal echoes in her home that keep her up at night and keep her nerves on edge. Relatively well-made and with a solid lead performance from Liddiard but film lacks suspense and narrative momentum. Film reunites Liddiard and Spilchuk who were previously in the similarly mediocre “Danger In The House”. Continue reading →
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