Author: dlepikcom

“Alice, Darling” (** out of four) was an exceedingly aloof melodrama about a woman (Anna Kendrick) in a troubled relationship with her husband (Charlie Carrick) who goes away on vacation with her two friends (Kaniehtiio Horn and Wunmi Mosaku) which turns out to be an intervention to help her realize she is at a crossroads in life. Kendrick is good playing a woman battling a variety of psychological struggles but story isn’t very moving or compelling, maybe because her husband never seems all that difficult or evil. Obvious parallels to “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and other more incisive films about abusive relationships and trauma (“The Burning Bed”, “No One Would Tell”). Directorial debut of actress Mary Nighy.

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“Werewolf Cabal” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller about an American author (Derek Evans) who travels to a rural town in the UK and uncovers a ravenous group of werewolves that threaten mankind. Practically worthless movie zig-zags between horror and offbeat comedy but falters miserably at both and is a real snooze. Title might be an allusion to Clive Barker’s horror story “Cabal” but the movie this might remind you most of is “The Howling”.

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“Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey” (** out of four) was a curiously bland horror thriller about Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) who grows up and goes to college and this enrages both Pooh and Piglet (Craig David Dowsett and Chris Cordell) and sets them off on a bloodthirsty rampage! The novelty of seeing the cute Disney characters as homicidal killers quickly wears thin and some of the movie is so dark you literally can’t tell what’s going on; even when you can decipher the action, though, film is pretty routine and basic. What’s next? A slasher movie about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck?

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“Left Behind 2: Rise Of The Antichrist” (** out of four) was a blah sequel to the 2014 cult religious melodrama about the continuing interpersonal drama of main character Rayford Steele (Kevin Sorbo who also directed) who begins to realize that the rapture is now and as the world falls into chaos- a new messiah (Neal McDonough) promises new world order but that might actually spell the beginning of the apocalypse. Or something like that. Fifth film version of Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins’ novels is typically hokey and solemn religious psychobabble with murky plot strands going in all directions. Hard-core religious fanatics and fans of the series may want to check this out but others should leave this one behind and watch the underrated 2014 film version instead.

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“The Price Of Perfection” (** out of four) was a far-from-perfect suspense melodrama about a recently widowed event planner (Christy Bruce) who discovers that her daughter (Keara Graves) has been abusing her brother’s (Cameron Brodeur) ADHD medication and has been leading a double life and she has to uncover everything to bring her back from the brink and save both of their lives before it is too late. Interesting themes of teen alienation and drug use are exploitatively infused into a routine and predictable thriller framework. Bruce and Graves give credible performances but this is hardly worth the “price” of a ticket or Redbox rental.

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“The Devil Below” (*1/2 out of four) was a wearily derivative horror thriller about several explorer friends (Alicia Sanz, Adam Canto, and others) who venture into the Appalachian mountains to uncover the reason for a series of coal fires but instead find (yawn) an ancient creature intent on killing them and all of mankind. Hard to believe the same story could be re-told in at least 3 horror movies released in the same week but seeing is unfortunately believing. Also hard to believe this was made by much of the same crew who made 2012’s “The Chernobyl Diaries” which was stylish and scary but this one is a long-winded bore. Will Patton is wasted in a minor throwaway role.

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“Carnifex” (*1/2 out of four) was an unbearably dull horror thriller set in the Australian outback in which a documentarian (Alexandra Park) and 2 environmentalists (Harry Greenwood and Brendan Rock) venture into the woods to rescue animals displaced by a brushfire but are mauled and attacked by a new breed of terror unlike anything they’ve ever seen. Made in conjunction with a video-game of the same name released simultaneously; hopefully the game is more exciting than anything in this feature film. Even the Australian scenery is drably filmed. Directorial debut for noted editor Sean Lahiff whose “Wolf Creek” movies had more scares and verve in their opening scenes than this entire movie.

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“Battle For Pandora” (*1/2 out of four) was a shoddy action adventure about a U.S. space force who hears a help signal from a distant planet and sends a rescue team (Tom Sizemore, Natalie Storrs, Mark Ricketson, and others) to Pandora but soon find that there is a highly evolved humanoid species that wants to overtake them and return to Earth and plot mass destruction. You might think with that title that this would be a cheap knockoff of “Avatar” but you’d be wrong since instead it’s an even-worse knockoff of “Aliens” and also “The Abyss” (also by James Cameron). Cheap and sludgy visual effects abound in this one. For anyone who ever wanted to see Sizemore in a mohawk, your day has come but this won’t do much else in his “battle” to save his career.

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“Trepedity” (* out of four) was disposable junk about five girls (Paige Bourne, Magdalena Conway, Ashley Hefner, and others) who have a night of partying in a deserted barn and end up (ho-hum) unleashing the spirit of a violent demon which is able to jump from body to body and realize that only the strong will be able to survive. Another low-budget effort that seems as if it were shot and made by someone with their cruddy cell-phone. Film has buckets of blood for those who want it but not much else in the way of coherence or any originality. Hefner also co-directed.

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