November 29, 2025 “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (**1/2 out of four) was a fitfully engaging entry in this popular series about a young priest (Josh O’Connor) who is sent to assist a fiery and charismatic preacher (Josh Brolin) in a small town but when a local murder occurs- it leads to the involvement of detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and a local police chief (Mila Kunis) and other townsfolk (Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington) try to sort out what is going on. Fast-paced and kept alive by its all-star cast but fatally overlong at nearly two-and-a-half hours and the central story and mystery isn’t all that compelling. Series fans (I’m not) will likely enjoy this more. Continue reading →
November 29, 2025 “Frenzy Moon” (*1/2 out of four) was a needless horror melodrama about six friends (Alyssa Grace Adams, Kayla Malika, Gabrielle Nunzio, and others) and one mysterious stranger (Aaron Krygier) who are locked in a secluded cabin where they are besieged by a ravenous pack of bloodthirsty werewolvess. Hardly anything that “The Howling” (or any of its sequels/remakes) didn’t do- and do better- over 40 years ago. Some of the werewolf CGI effects are nifty but film as a whole is pretty toothless. Even still, this won awards at the Pittsburgh and New Zealand horror festivals earlier this year. Continue reading →
November 28, 2025 “Jingle Bell Heist” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly engaging holiday confection about two strangers (Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells) both who are up against a financial wall who team up to rob a large-scale department store on Christmas and find that in the midst of planning the robbery they are falling in love. Mix of gritty action, lighthearted comedy, and holiday romance doesn’t entirely work but is carried along by good chemistry and camaraderie between the two leads and bouncy style from director Michael Fimognari. Refreshingly quick and lean also at only an hour-and-40-minutes. Continue reading →
November 28, 2025 “12 To Midnight” (** out of four) was a misbegotten action melodrama about a grizzled detective (Robert Bronzi) who is despondent after the recent murder of his wife who rejoins the force when a serial killer (Tito Ortiz) begins taunting him and appears to be his wife’s murderer but they soon come to realize he may be superhuman. Unpleasant and uneven mixture of B-movie cop themes but Charles Bronson lookalike Bronzi does his best to hold this all together with his effortless charisma. By the way, this is not a remake or sequel to the Bronson cult classic “10 To Midnight”, despite similar stories and title. Continue reading →
November 28, 2025 “Wildcat” (**1/2 out of four) was a proficient but perfunctory action thriller about an ex-special Black Ops team (Kate Beckinsale, Lewis Tan, Rasmus Hardiker, and others) who reunite to save the life of an 8-year old girl whose in peril and they become caught in the crossfire between two underworld criminal kingpins (Charles Dance and Alice Krige) and their brutal street war. Packed with hard-boiled dialogue and enough gunfire and hand-to-hand combat to make it watchable for fans but still pretty conventional and doesn’t break much new ground. Beckinsale and Dance are rock-solid as usual but even they could play these roles in their sleep by now. Continue reading →
November 27, 2025 “Regretting You” (** out of four) was a sincere but vapid adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel about a mother and daughter (Allison Williams and McKenna Grace) who become closer to one another after a devastating accident and try to repair past years of emotional damage and duplicity that tore them apart. Good performances help to keep you watching for a while but film is never particularly insightful, moving, or funny. Both Williams and Grace have a few good scenes together especially at the end but you still may end up “regretting” seeing this one by then. Continue reading →
November 27, 2025 “Blue Moon” (*1/2 out of four) was a stultifying melodrama set in 1943 in which Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) is trying to save face before the opening of “Oklahoma” and rambles and struggles with mental health issues as he meets various patrons (Bobby Cannavale, Margaret Qualley, and others) in a bar he is in. Many critics thought this was extraordinary but I’m not one of them; film is suffocating as it is mostly set in only one room and none of the characters (or their dialogue) are particularly interesting including Hart. For die-hard Richard Linklater fans only but even they should re-watch better Linklater/Hawke collaborations “Before Sunrise” and “The Newton Boys” instead. Continue reading →
November 27, 2025 “Deadly Obsession 2” (*1/2 out of four) was an inept sequel to a movie that I don’t think anyone was exactly waiting by their Netflix servers over; the seemingly perfect and happy couple (Karen H. Brown and Khari Zyon) from the original return and think their nightmare is over but soon find new problems that challenge their stability and sanity to stay together. But they encumber even more problems from a feeble script and cheap film production values. A Thanksgiving present that feels like leftover stale turkey. Continue reading →
November 27, 2025 “Resurrection Road” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash action thriller set during the Civil War about a group of African-American soldiers (Malcolm Goodwin, Triana Brown, Randall J. Bacon, and others) sent on a suicide mission to infiltrate a Confederate fort and assassinate an evil general (Michael Madsen) but soon find they are being overtaken by a dark and evil spirit that is attempting to kill them all. Lackluster mix of historical melodrama and horror themes. Of note solely for being Madsen’s final film but this clunker was unlikely to “resurrect” his career. Continue reading →
November 23, 2025 “The Family Plan 2” (** out of four) was an uninspired and unnecessary sequel to the 2023 hit about the former government operative (Mark Wahlberg) and his family (Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti, Kit Harrington) who have to go on the run when a deadly figure from their past re-emerges and culminates in a slam-bang showdown in Vegas. Lots of action and enthusiastic performances help but it’s all pretty stale and is one more sequel off the assembly line that is more-or-less the same as the original. Film reheats a lot of elements from “Mr. And Mrs Smith” and “True Lies” but is nowhere near as good as either. Continue reading →
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