November 28, 2024 “Armor” (*1/2 out of four) was a needless action melodrama about a father and son (Jason Patric and Josh Wiggins) who are ambushed by a pair of armed robbers (Sylvester Stallone and Dane Mihok) and trapped inside their armored truck while they hatch a plan to stay alive. Film liberally rips off 2009’s similarly titled “Armored” which itself ripped off “Reservoir Dogs”. It’s only novelty is watching Stallone playing a villain for the first time in years but there’s otherwise not much stealing here. Continue reading →
November 28, 2024 “Reagan” (** out of four) was a pretty one-dimension biographical melodrama about the American icon and President Ronald Reagan (Dennis Quaid) from his childhood to his life on the big screen and his later years in meeting his wife Nancy Reagan (Penelope Ann Miller) and their time in the White House together. Superficially told and doesn’t really tell you much about Reagan most don’t already know; one stirring sequence set to Genesis’ “Land Of Confusion” hints at the darker and more powerful film this could have been. Quaid is first-rate as usual and interestingly enough played former President Bill Clinton in his biography several years ago. Continue reading →
November 23, 2024 “Swap” (*1/2 out of four) was an amateurishly done melodrama about a couple (Dallas King and Jessica Lelia Greene) who are lured into the clutches of an ancient vampire (James Eastwood) who persuades them into a world of sexual perversity and desire and change. Film is full of sex and nudity for those who want it but it’s all senselessly and haplessly put together. King also wrote, directed. and co-produced and one can only hope shows more promise in the future and can “swap” his talent for better down the road. Continue reading →
November 23, 2024 “Get Fast” (**1/2 out of four) was a fast-paced if empty action melodrama about a well-meaning thief (James Clayton) and a troubled orphan (Alisha-Marie Ahamed) who find they have to team up to survive as they struggle to survive going up against a ruthless drug lord (Lee Adjoub) and his cunning hitman (Lou Diamond Phillips). Lots of action and flair to keep you entertained, just not much or anything in the way of story or character development. The type of film you watch and like but will leave “fast” from your memory eventually. Continue reading →
November 22, 2024 “Magpie” (*1/2 out of four) was a joyless, excessively weird melodrama about 2 parents (Daisy Ridley and Shazad Latif) who find their whole lives turned upside down and their existence and relationship questioned when their daughter (Matilda Lutz) is cast along a controversial film star. Good performances can only do so much in a film so off-putting and aloof. Might have worked better as a character play but it’s awfully tough to take as a feature film. Continue reading →
November 20, 2024 “Black Cab” (*1/2 out of four) was a grim horror melodrama about a couple (George Bakhari and Synnove Karlssen) who get into a taxi with a jovial cab driver (Nick Frost) and realize too little/too late that he’s a deranged nutjob. By now- I think there have been several too many films about psychotic cab drivers so they simply aren’t too scary anymore. Watch Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” for more scares and thrills. Continue reading →
November 20, 2024 “Goodrich” (**1/2 out of four) was an uneven but endearing melodrama about an art dealer (Michael Keaton) whose life is thrown into disarray when his younger wife (Laura Benanti) informs him she’s checking into rehab leading him to have to attend to the family responsibilities on his own and turn to his estranged daughter (Mila Kunis) for support. Keaton’s usual winning charisma and effortless likability makes this worth watching and sticking through even though it goes on too long and wanders at times. Kunis is strong as usual and Andie MacDowell has a key supporting role; this marks her and Keaton’s first teaming since the underrated 1996 “Multiplicity.” Continue reading →
November 17, 2024 “Heretic” (** out of four) was a tiresome horror drama about two religious women (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse when they are enticed into the home of a creepy older man (Hugh Grant) who takes delight in teasing and tormenting them. Initially holds you attention with its aura of tense malevolence but you soon realize that aura is all it has and it never goes anywhere beyond that and gets off the ground. Grant is first-rate in image-altering role for him. Continue reading →
November 17, 2024 “Absolution” (** out of four) was a muffled action melodrama about an aging gangster (Liam Neeson) with early forms of brain damage who tries to rectify his past by reconnecting with his now-grown daughter (Frankie Shaw) but the criminal kingpin (Ron Perlman) he works for and others won’t let him go and he finds it impossible to escape the clutches of his violent past. Film incorporates themes of the recent “Knox Goes Away” with some of Neeson’s own “Taken” but it doesn’t converge into a satisfying whole. Neeson is solid as always and helps keep film watchable. Continue reading →
November 16, 2024 “Desert Shadows” (*1/2 out of four) was a grindingly unpleasant horror melodrama about two brothers (Eric Foster and Andy Toulouse) who embark on a hunting trip following the death of their father in the Outback but soon become prey of a ravenous creature that is on the prowl. Opens with some pretty Australian scenery but soon goes downhill and becomes dour and monotonous. By the end, you won’t care about anyone or anything. Continue reading →
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