February 26, 2023 “Devil’s Peak” (*1/2 out of four) was a grimy melodrama set in the Appalachian Mountains in which a young man (Hopper Penn) wants to leave his dead-end life of drugs and crime but this puts him at odds with his meth-dealing kingpin father (Billy Bob Thornton) which leads to an impending bloodbath. Unpleasant collection of rednecks and lowlifes and other swell folks. Thornton provides film’s only style as the sardonic kingpin. Robin Wright Penn is wasted as the young man’s mother and Hopper Penn played this same role- and better- in the much better recent “Signs Of Love”. Continue reading →
February 26, 2023 “Freeze” (*1/2 out of four) was a joyless sci/fi thriller about a grizzled captain (Rory Wilton) who leads his seafaring crew (Johnny Vivash, David Lenek, and others) on a voyage to the North Pole but soon realize they are under siege from mutant creatures aboard and they take refuge on a snowy mountain but find that the creatures are following them to the death. Tediously derivative of “Alien” and too many others to think of or mention and goes nowhere slowly. Charlie Steeds’ bleak cinematography is an undeniable standout but this otherwise belongs in the deep freeze. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “Die Hart” (*1/2 out of four) was a witless adaptation of the television series starring Kevin Hart as himself who wants to prove himself as a fearless action star and goes to “an action school” and meets with a group of instructors (John Travolta and Josh Hartnett) to transform himself and pull this off. One-joke idea and premise quickly runs out of steam, as unfunny writing and dumb in-jokes soon take over. You know you’re in trouble when the most clever part of the movie is its title! Hart is winning as usual but by this point he needs to start playing some different characters and picking some different scripts. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “The Strays” (*1/2 out of four) was a scattershot horror thriller about an upscale woman (Ashley Madekwe) whose well-insulated and privileged life with her husband (Justin Salinger) begins to crumble when two mysterious strangers (Jordan Myrie and Bukky Bakray) show up in her idyllic suburban town and start menacing her and force her to question the fabric of her own reality and sanity. Writer/director Nathaniel Martello-White throws in elements of “Get Out”, “The Stepford Wives”, and just about any other horror movie about the dark-side-of-suburbia but film is lackluster and lifeless. Madekwe’s is solid in the lead but film unfortunately leads her astray. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “Ice Road Killer” (** out of four) was an undernourished suspense thriller about a mother and daughter (Sarah Allen and Erica Anderson) on a trip up to an isolated cabin in the frigid North and pick up a hitchhiker (Zoe Belkin) who is on the run from a vicious murderer (Michael Swatton) and soon find themselves targeted by him as they try to turn the tables on him to survive. Beautiful locations in Canada and vibrant cinematography from William Smith unfortunately are in service of a routine story in which the twists-and-turns are tough to care about. Solid performances from all three leads are melted away by film’s thin screenplay. Continue reading →
February 25, 2023 “Mad Heidi” (*** out of four) was a gonzo action sci/fi comedy about a Swiss mountain girl (Alice Lucy) who is abducted by vicious government troops (led by Casper Van Dien) and must try to escape and break free and take part in a worldwide war fueled over greed over cheese! Wildly over-the-the-top movie winks at the audience nonstop with its garish comedy and in-your-face violence but it never stops being entertaining because it is always in on the joke and never stops moving. Directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein throw in multiple homages to grindhouse cinema in this unexpectedly fun sleeper. Continue reading →
February 24, 2023 “Kingdom Of The Dinosaurs” (** out of four) was a passable action thriller set in 2030 after WWIII in which a group of survivors (Darcie Rose, Mark Haldor, Stephen Staley, and others) make it into a survival bunker and stay hidden for two years and upon getting free- they attempt to find new supplies but instead are preyed upon by ravenous dinosaurs who are bloodthirsty and vicious. Not bad for what it is, with some well-done visual effects and chase scenes, but never quite transcends mediocrity or its obvious story origins. Yet another Roger Corman version of “Jurassic Park” although somewhat better than most. Continue reading →
February 24, 2023 “Dangerous Medicine” (*1/2 out of four) was a dangerously predictable suspense thriller about a man (Chris Cimperman) who loses his legs in a car crash and is helped and nursed back to care by a physical therapist (Leann Van Mol) but his daughter (Chloe Stafford) soon begins to worry that the therapist is (what else?) not who she says she is and is trying to overturn his life. Glossy thriller looks slick and attractive but is obvious at every turn and gets pretty silly especially towards its final twist. Continue reading →
February 23, 2023 “Hider In My House” (** out of four) was a trite suspense melodrama about a best-selling author (Meghan Carrasquillo) who moves into what she thinks is the apartment of her dreams but soon finds that there may be sinister rumblings in the walls and she soon uncovers a shocking and sinister revelation that she never could have imagined. Film is well-made and well-acted but is undone by its hokey storyline which becomes overly predictable. Hardly the worst of its ilk but hardly memorable either. Continue reading →
February 23, 2023 “Red Winter” (** out of four) was a lukewarm action melodrama about a bickering couple (Doris Morgado and Rockmond Dunbar) who decide to take a getaway trip in the Colorado mountains but soon find themselves witnesses to a murder and find themselves on the run until they turn the tables on the killers and turn the attacked into the attackers. Competently made and filmed but film offers nothing that “Cliffhanger” (or even “Surviving The Game”) did- and did better- about 3 decades ago. Dustin Diamond’s crisp cinematography is an undeniable standout throughout. Continue reading →
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