December 3, 2022 “A Wounded Fawn” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome horror story about a vicious serial killer (Josh Ruben) who lures an unsuspecting young woman (Sarah Lind) to his estate to be his latest victim but she soon realizes there is more to him beneath his charming veneer and tries to turn the tables on him and escape. Alluring retro 70’s/80’s filming holds your attention at first (you literally will think you’re watching a film from 30-40 years ago) but it’s all window dressing for a routine slasher-and-stalker story and becomes far too long and too unpleasant. Somehow, this was selected as a critic’s favorite at the Tribeca Film Festival but not by this FB critic. Continue reading →
December 3, 2022 “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (** out of four) was a heavy-handed sequel to the inexplicably popular 2019 comedy melodrama about a hard-boiled detective (Daniel Craig) who has to travel to Greece to unspool his latest case involving a billionaire (Edward Norton) and various others (Janelle Monae, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista) who may have been involved in a murder. In fairness- I was NOT a fan of the original so this is somewhat of an improvement but story still feels awkward and contrived with far too many twists and turns by the end and murky character motivations. Strong cast gives this an undeniable sheen and boost but I’m sorry- Craig’s Southern accent still sounds creepy and weird. Continue reading →
December 1, 2022 “Holly And The Hot Chocolate” (** out of four) was harmless but predictable fluff about a famous food critic (Hannah Gaffney) who finds herself stuck in a Capraesque small town for Christmas where she stumbles on a life-changing hot-chocolate recipe that could change everything and while she’s there she falls in love with one of the locals (Ryan Farrell). Typical Hallmark romantic comedy full of upbeat sentiments and bright cast but made with too much sugar and empty calories to be filling. Continue reading →
December 1, 2022 “Killer Design” (** out of four) was yet another predictable suspense thriller about a prospective interior designer (Sarah Armstrong) whose life is saved by a young woman (Chelsea Gibson) whom she subsequently hired as her assistant but she soon uncovers terrifying secrets about her and finds out she is a sociopath intent on invading and wrecking her life. Decent acting and filmmaking fail to put new paint on a well-worn and derivative storyline. Film remains watchable for the most part but falls apart in its silly climax. Time to “design” some new suspense and thriller stories by now. Continue reading →
December 1, 2022 “The Long Dark Trail” (*1/2 out of four) was a long and boring timewaster about two teenage brothers (Nick Psinakis and Michael Thyer) who escape the home from their abusive father and seek and attempt to find their long-lost mother who has joined a dangerous cult deep in the heart of the woods of Pennsylvania and they have to rescue her and attempt to bring her back home. Intriguing storyline of the ties that bind and separatism and dark family secrets goes nowhere- and is also pretentious and bizarre. Psinakis also wrote and directed. Continue reading →
November 29, 2022 “Grizzly Rage” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty toothless horror thriller about some young partiers (Tyler Hoechlin, Kate Todd, and others) who accidentally run over a young cub which incenses the grizzly bear mother that sets out for revenge and targets them for extinction. By-the-numbers filmmaking and some pretty grisly acting turn this into a real survival story for the audience. The best performance in the movie ironically is by the bear itself. Filmed in 2007 being released now but should be extinct itself pretty soon. Continue reading →
November 29, 2022 “Taurus” (*1/2 out of four) was a terminally weird saga of the final days of a troubled musician (Machine Gun Kelly) as he is trying to record his last record and piece together the various parts of his difficult life which has fallen apart at the seams. Film is cold to the touch and never engages your emotions and hardly moves period. Despite obviously being a musician himself, Kelly is pretty one-note and flat in the lead role and so is the rest of the cast including Megan Fox and Ruby Rose. Originally titled “Good News” but was changed to avoid confusion with Mac Miller and his huge hit after he died. Continue reading →
November 28, 2022 “Requiem For A Scream” (** out of four) was a half-hearted slasher thriller about a sadistic killer who preys on a group of friends (Cassandra Scerbo, Michael X. Sommers, and others) at a lake resort and intends on collecting all their screams and turning it into a murderous symphony. Cleverly titled thriller for those of us who remember “Requiem For A Dream” and features various homages to the “Friday The 13th” series. Not bad for its genre and professionally made but too routine overall to make much of an impression. Continue reading →
November 28, 2022 “Death Camp” (*1/2 out of four) was an abjectly awful horror potboiler about a group of friends (Cody Renee Cameron, Christopher Gerse, and others) who gather at a campground where gruesome murders took place some 20 years earlier. Guess what happens next. Yet another DIY low-budget horror timewaster that looks like it was shot on someone’s used cell phone. Filmmakers and actors should have instead gone to film camp, instead of this moldy material. Bring on that next “Friday The 13th” remake already! Continue reading →
November 27, 2022 “Cursed Friends” (*1/2 out of four) was an irritatingly stupid MTV melodrama about 4 friends (Jessica Lowe, Nicole Byer, Harvey Guillen, Andrew Lewis Caldwell) who awake on Halloween and realize that the predict-your-future game they played in 2002 have become alarmingly true and they have to band together to try to change their fates that have transformed their lives inside-out. In-your-face horror story full of annoying characters and dumb dialogue that makes this a real timewaster. For anyone who even bothers to stay with this, film’s ending is a total letdown anyway. Continue reading →
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