November 24, 2022 “The Walls Are Watching” (*1/2 out of four) was a snail-paced horror thriller surely not worth “watching”; a man (Branscome Richmond) who recently lost his entire family and now his house refuses to accept that the house is no longer his and he starts to terrorize the new couple (Michael Perl and Lana McKissack) who have moved in in hopes that they’ll move out and he can regain control of his life again. Suspenseless movie is tedious and talky and might have worked better as a play. Richmond’s strong performance is one of film’s only virtues. Continue reading →
November 24, 2022 “Heart Of The Gun” (*1/2 out of four) was a logy Western that fires mostly blanks about a former military doctor (John Marrs) who searches the frontier for his wife who recently left him; he subsequently stumbles upon and saves a woman (Amber Rose Mason) who has been left for dead and they start to develop a close connection with one another and embark on a search for his wife together. Promising beginning opens effectively but gets draggier and talkier as it goes along and eventually story interest is completely eroded. Writer/director Travis Mills also has a supporting role as a gunslinger named Dolan. This is the final film of Jay Pickett and Dalton Breuer. Continue reading →
November 23, 2022 “You Can Never Go Home Again” (** out of four) was an unremarkable suspense thriller about a husband and wife (Omar Gooding and Maria Breese) who return to his hometown in Mississippi to start their lives over; he subsequently has an affair with his child’s teacher (Jackie Moore) who turns out to be (what else?) a serious sicko intent on wrecking their home and turning their lives upside-down. Competently made and acted but cliche-strewn and starts to fall apart in its silly climax. Al Sapienza is solid as Breese’s uncle who is a retired cop. Continue reading →
November 23, 2022 “The Killing Tree” (*1/2 out of four) was a ridiculous horror thriller about a vindictive widow (Judy Tcherniak) who conjures up a spell to resurrect her executed husband but something goes wrong and the dead husband is brought back as a Christmas tree (!) intent on revenge and murdering those who put him in the grave! What’s next? A Thanksgiving horror movie about a killer turkey??? Obviously stupid premise isn’t even made with any conviction and doesn’t generate any laughs or scares and turns into a real bore. This clunker makes previous holiday horror romps “Jack Frost” and “Silent Night, Deadly Night” almost look like Oscar fare by comparison. Continue reading →
November 22, 2022 “The Final Rose” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash suspense shocker about a young mother (Christina Masterson) who arrives on a remote island to compete on a reality dating show but soon finds out that someone is killing all the contestants one-by-one and that she has to fight to escape the island alive. Film’s main character is named Jess Rose hence the title but that’s about the most clever thing here. One scene of everyone drinking poisoned champagne is the only one that provides a real scare. Let’s all hope this is the “final” horror movie about reality shows and television. Continue reading →
November 22, 2022 “Raven’s Hollow” (*1/2 out of four) was a hollow horror melodrama set in the early 1800’s in which a young Edgar Allan Poe (William Moseley) and various training cadets (Melanie Zannetti, Callum Woodhouse, and others) are on a training exercise but uncover a horrific discovery in a forgotten community and soon find out all their lives are in deadly jeopardy. Hard-core Poe fans might find something of value here but it’s otherwise tough-going for everyone else and is gloomy and tedious. Set in upstate NY but filmed in Latvia. Continue reading →
November 21, 2022 “She Said” (** out of four) was a disappointing melodrama based on the true stories of NY Times reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jody Kantor (Zoe Kazan) who investigated various allegations of sexual assault in Hollywood which led to the extensive investigation- and eventual undoing- of Miramax CEO Harvey Weinstein and others and provided vindication to multiple women who were victims of sexual abuse. Certainly an important story to be told but film is lacking in dramatic fire and never shifts into high-gear. Film attempts to be a journalistic expose but it pales in comparison to previous investigative films “Spotlight”, “All The President’s Men”, and “The Post” and also in comparison to previous Weinstein expose “Untouchable.” Continue reading →
November 21, 2022 “Don’t Get Caught” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly stupid stoner comedy about two friends (Albert Alves and B-Legit) who are on a road trip and stumble upon a marijuana farm that they decide to rob and soon have a bounty upon their heads and find themselves pursued by murderous thugs. Fast-paced but full of dumb dialogue and irritatingly stupid characters; these 2 guys make any of the “Half Baked” crew look like Harvard graduates by comparison. Snoop Dogg and Mike Epps collect easy paychecks in nothing supporting roles. How and why they “got caught” in this clunker is film’s real mystery. Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “Hounded” (*1/2 out of four) was a trifling horror melodrama about a group of young thieves (Hannah Traylen, Malachi Pullar-Latchman, and others) who are caught in the act by the estate owners (James Lance, Samantha Bond, and others) and then are pursued across the property and chased to the death by various animals and enforcers. Film’s title is sadly appropriate because it’s a real dog. Yet another movie about thieves having the tables turned on them but this concept was already showing its wear-and-tear with “Don’t Breathe” several years ago. “Don’t Watch” would be a better title for this timewaster. Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (*1/2 out of four) was a bewildering “biography” of legendary comic recording artist Weird Al Yankovic (Daniel Radcliffe) and the various hardships he endured at the beginning and how his career reached superstardom as he had a heated affair with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood) and did battle with Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Arturo Castro)! Winning opening scenes soon go off the rails as film becomes surreal, senseless, and just plain stupid! Just because it’s intended as a satire of biographies doesn’t make it any easier to take. Hard to imagine Yankovic would want his name on this fiasco but apparently he does because he has a minor role as one of the Scotti Brothers and sang some of Radcliffe’s vocals. Radcliffe and Wood are perfect in the lead roles but film is too “weird” for its own good. Continue reading →
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