July 4, 2024 “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (*** out of four) was a winning sequel about the return of Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) who has to go back to swank Beverly Hills to help his daughter (Taylour Paige) and gets mired up in a sinister plot involving a ruthless cop (Kevin Bacon) and has to turn back to former friends (John Ashton and Judge Reinhold looking odd) for help. Nowhere near up to the hilarity and dazzle of the first 2 but far more agreeable and entertaining than the last entry which came out 30 years ago! Kudos also to bringing back Harold Faltermeyer’s sizzling original score and other soundtrack selections and to Murphy for being aces in a role that he began all the way back in 1984. Continue reading →
July 4, 2024 “Nyctophobia” (** out of four) was a pedestrian horror thriller about twin sisters and their friend (Bianca D’Ambrosio, Chiara D’Ambrosio, and BJ Tanner) who find themselves trapped in a supernatural blackout with various monsters with their only hope of survival being the light of their cellphones. Nowhere near the worst of this disreputable genre and is relatively well-made and decently acted but is really more-of-the-same and predictable. At least it’s compact and short at 1 hour and 17 minutes. Continue reading →
July 1, 2024 “Grieve” (*1/2 out of four) was a monotonous muddle about a recluse (Paris Peterson) who retreats back to his family’s forest home after suffering a personal loss but soon finds that an ancient evil and force is lurking in the darkness and threatening to overtake him. Exquisitely shot by Evan Henkel and with an eerie music score by Theresa Brown but it all adds up to nothing, since the central story is drab and inert. Directed by Robbie Smith who is the vocalist for Heavy Heavy Low Low but based on this effort needs to set his filmmaking sights a little higher. Continue reading →
July 1, 2024 “Cinderella’s Curse” (*1/2 out of four) was a disconcertingly awful “remake” of the 1950 Disney tale about Cinderella (Kelly Rian Sanson) who summons the help of her fairy Godmother (Chrissie Wunna) to enact bloodthirsty revenge against her stepmother Danielle Scott) and her vicious sisters (Lauren Budd and Natasha Tosini). Hard to believe that this could be made after the similarly titled (and similarly terrible) “Cinderella’s Revenge” which was just released last month (!) but no one ever accused horror filmmakers of too much originality. Like that film, this one is mean-spirited and gruesome and as needless as a glass slipper. Continue reading →
July 1, 2024 “Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1” (*1/2 out of four) was a grueling “epic” Western chronicling a 15-year span of pre-and-post Civil War expansion and settlement in the American west in which a settler (Angus MacFayden), a lieutenant (Sam Worthington), a sergeant (Michael Rooker), a grizzled colonel (Danny Huston), and a retired gunslinger (Kevin Costner) all intersect. Ambitious story is also long-winded and incredibly dull as it plods on for over 3 hours; Costner is dull too and also directed and incorporates many elements from his earlier “Dances With Wolves” and “Open Range” but the film this may remind you most is “Heaven’s Gate.” Supposedly, 3 additional entries are planned. Continue reading →
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