August 31, 2024 “Dinosaur Hotel 3” (*1/2 out of four) was a tacky horror melodrama about a group of people (Gaston Alexander, Alexandra DeCaluwe, Lila Lasso, and others) who wake up in a hotel infested with dinosaurs and find that they have to play a series of interconnected games to stay alive and survive the night. If you ever wanted to see a cross between “Jurassic Park” and “Saw”, then look no further but it’s pretty tired and dumb. Dinosaur visual effects aren’t bad considering film’s threadbare budget but don’t make this third time entry the charm. Continue reading →
August 31, 2024 “Borderlands” (*** out of four) was a colorfully done adaptation of the Gearbox video game about a group of mercenaries (Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cate Blanchett, and others) on a mission to save a young girl (Ariana Greenblatt) who holds the key to unimaginable powers that could save the world. Thin storyline and script are outweighed by eye-candy cinematography from Rogier Stoffers and a cast that has good camaraderie together and seem like they’re having fun. Most importantly also, it never stops moving. A change-of-pace from director Eli Roth but this is a lot more entertaining than most of his horror junk. Continue reading →
August 31, 2024 “The Lockdown” (** out of four) was a relatively routine prison melodrama about a brother and sister (Leo Howard and Caity Lotz) who are stuck in incarceration for a crime they didn’t commit and reconnect with their estranged father (Michael Biehn) who trains them for televised kickboxing fights against other inmates that could potentially result in their freedom. Predictable movie covers a lot of familiar territory from multiple other films but hard-hitting kickboxing fight scenes give this a boost and make it watchable. Biehn is solid as usual as their father and trainer. Continue reading →
August 29, 2024 “Hostile Dimensions” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable horror drama about two documentary filmmakers (Stephen Beavis and Cedric Gall) who travel through alternative dimensions to find a graffiti artist (Graham Hughes) who vanished. Pretty needless and tired without much inspiration or scares. Hughes also wrote, directed, and co-produced and let’s hope he shows more “dimensions” in his future efforts. Continue reading →
August 29, 2024 “Hell Hole” (** out of four) was a modest horror thriller about a fracking crew (Olivera Perinucic, John Adams, Bruno Veljanovski, and others) who discover a French soldier frozen in time who they soon realize all-too-late hosts a parasitic organism that threatens them all. Never quite transcends its origins and roots from “Alien” and never escapes the feeling of routine but does offer some minor scares and creepy imagery. Not a remake whatsoever of the 1985 horror cult film of the same name which was Godawful. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “A Killer In The House” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash suspense thriller about a charming psycho (Phillip Andre Botello) who becomes obsessed with a beautiful girl (Katherine Gibson) he meets and will do anything to win her over, including killing anyone who gets in his path. Botello is such an obvious lunatic that film becomes an unintentional comedy at times; the rest is predictable and obvious thriller cliches. Another run-of-the-mill “Fatal Attraction” wannabe that the world didn’t need. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “The Mouse Trap” (*1/2 out of four) was a one-note horror show about a girl (Sophie McIntosh) celebrating her 21st birthday at an amusement park with friends (Callum Sywyk, Mireille Gagne, and others) when a homicidal slasher dressed as Mickey Mouse (!) is on the prowl and killing everyone one-by-one. This is what audiences get for making the “Winnie The Pooh” horror films a hit. Opening title sequence is pretty flippant and amusing but rest is standard stalk-and-slash fare. What’s next? Donald Duck as a strangler? Kermit The Frog as a kidnapper? Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Trap” (**1/2 out of four) was a typically hit-and-miss and uneven M. Night Shymalahan horror thriller about a father (Josh Hartnett) who is actually a serial killer and takes his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert of a pop star (Saleka Shymalahan) only to find out there is a massive manhunt for him at the show and he has to improvise on how to escape. Starts off as spooky and entertaining in the vein of early Hitchcock but once they leave the arena the suspense peters out and film becomes arbitrary and silly. Hartnett and Shymalahan are first-rate and she actually wrote her own songs which are really good. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Snow White And The Seven Samurai” (**1/2 out of four) an agreeably trashy pulp-revenge thriller about a woman (Fiona Dorn) left for dead by her greedy stepmother (Gina Vitori) and is found by a group of samurai women who train her in martial arts and swordplay for her to enact bloody vengeance. Indefensible on a script or story level but director Michael Su works in a grindhouse style that is shamelessly entertainining and most importantly- never stops moving. Eric Roberts picks up a few extra bucks as the girl’s father. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Top Gunner: America Vs. Russia” (**1/2 out of four) was a passable action thriller about an assassination attempt on a Russian president (Alex Veadov) while on a visit to the White House leading to all-out war when Russia retaliates and our own President (yes Eric Roberts again) strikes back sending numerous fighter pilots (Andrew Rogers, Kayla Fields, and others) into action to save the world. Third in this series all-too-obviously inspired by “Top Gun” (no kidding) but it’s fast-paced and has enough action and visual effects, if you’re not too demanding. Continue reading →
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