February 8, 2025 “Diddy: Monster’s Fall” (*** out of four) was an interesting documentary about the rise and fall of music-empire mogul Sean (P. Diddy) Combs from his impoverished beginnings to his meteoric success in the 90’s to his eventual undoing and the ongoing pending criminal charges he’s facing. Features an array of good media clips and music and certainly conveys the subject in a lurid and disturbing light. Continue reading →
February 8, 2025 “Fungus” (*1/2 out of four) was an incoherent sci/fi melodrama set in a post-apocalyptic Sweden in which scientists and various gang members (Lottie Johansson, Daniel Epstein, and others) struggle to stay alive in the midst of a pandemic incurred by toxic mushrooms. Too much mumbo and too much jumbo in this perplexing movie; by the time you sort out the muddle, film is too far gone for it to matter. Continue reading →
February 3, 2025 “Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera” (*1/2 out of four) was a misbegotten sequel to the 2018 hit about the return of Big Nick (a grizzled Gerard Butler) who is operating in Europe and closing in on an organized crime king (led by O’shea Jackson, Jr. looking more like his father in every film) involving the Pantera mafia as they plot a diamond heist exchange. A few exciting action set pieces but like the original it wallows in unpleasantness and excess (and overlength) and wears you out. Noted kickboxer and MMA champion Rico Verhoeven adds some style as a key henchman. Continue reading →
February 3, 2025 “Dark Night Of The Soul” (*1/2 out of four) was a lugubrious bore about a scientist (Kristanna Loken) who finds herself trapped in a car after a terrible crash with the keys to a pandemic that is ravaging the world; film intercuts in flashbacks with relations with other sinister figures (Martin Kove, Jesse Kove, and others) who are plotting destruction. Intriguing storyline is marred by meandering script and storytelling that saps dramatic momentum. One-time “T3” siren Loken and Kove are wasted. Continue reading →
February 3, 2025 “Monster On A Plane” (*1/2 out of four) was a third-rate horror comedy about an exotic animal that turns into a monster aboard a plane and wreaks havoc for all the passengers (Eva Habermann, Robin Czerny, Nicholas Artajo, and others) who just want to enjoy the flight and join the mile-high club. Obviously inspired by “Snakes On A Plane” right down to its title but there’s no great lines like “time to get these snakes off this muthaphu–in plane”, no Samuel L. Jackson, and not much else to keep you involved. Monster here looks like a leftover from “Critters.” Continue reading →
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