November 20, 2022 “Lamborghini: The Man Behind The Legend” (**1/2 out of four) was an imperfect but occasionally penetrating story of Ferrucio Lamborghini (Frank Grillo) who went through a variety of hardships and tribulations in founding and inventing the Lamborghini which went on to change history and become one of the most lucrative luxury cars to this day in the world. Writer/director Bobby Moresco tries for grandiosity but can’t quite achieve it because film is overall too superficial and limited in its scope; yet there are individual powerful scenes especially as film gathers momentum in its final third when the car comes to invention and fruition. Grillo is dynamite in the lead role and Mira Sorvino has one of her best roles in years as his neglected wife. A half-great movie with great individual moments. Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “Cabrito” (* out of four) was a nearly unendurable Italian horror potboiler told in 3 chapters. The first one focuses on an oddball family and how they suddenly decide to turn cannibal. The second one focuses on a mother and how she carves out the worst in her son with her demented religiousness. The third focuses on the same man and how he kidnaps his first love and subjects her to the same abuse he was subjected to as a child. Molasses-moving bore is also gruesome and disgusting. Many people in Italy praised this as a work of art but they might need mental health counseling. Arrivederci! Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “Manifest West” (*1/2 out of four) was an oppressively dull melodrama about a young girl (Lexy Kolker) who watches her family (Milo Gibson, Annet Mahandru, and others) fall apart from within after they decide to remove themselves from society and live in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, film itself heads nowhere for nearly two hours and sure takes it’s time getting there. You keep thinking something substantial will happen but nothing ever does and winds up a real timewaster. Kolker’s bright performance is one of film’s few virtues. Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “A Christmas Story Christmas” (** out of four) was a pleasant but mild sequel to the 1983 Christmas classic about the now adult Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) who returns to his old family home to give his family the Christmas he had as a child and soon rekindles old memories and relationships with various friends (Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, and others) around the neighborhood. Affectionately done in the vein of the original but weakened by lack of strong script and story. Billingsley’s sincere performance gives film a big boost but fans would best re-watch the original over the holidays again. Continue reading →
November 20, 2022 “Disenchanted” (** out of four) was an overstuffed sequel to the 2007 smash “Enchanted” about the continuing adventures of Giselle (Amy Adams) who begins to question the reality of her surroundings which turns her and her family (Patrick Dempsey and Gabriella Baldachino) upside down as she does battle with a malicious witch (Maya Rudolph who can play this role in her sleep by now). Some showstopping musical numbers and glitzy production design make you wonder if this may have been better as a Broadway musical instead. Might be more entertaining for dedicated fans of the original but it’s still pretty thin in terms of script and story. Adams is aces as always. Continue reading →
November 19, 2022 “The Good House” (** out of four) was a muddled adaptation of Ann Leary’s novel about a hard-working real estate mogul (Sigourney Weaver) whose life begins to unravel back into alcoholism after she rekindles a relationship with a former flame (Kevin Kline) and finds herself at a personal and psychological crossroads in life with her family. Well-intentioned story about alcohol abuse and how it overtakes one’s life and the various and personal scars that need to be dealt with from one’s past but story is meandering and never really connects emotionally. Weaver is strong in the lead but that doesn’t mean you like or care about her character much; Kline is wasted. Film is no match for their previous collaboration in 1993’s “Dave.” Continue reading →
November 19, 2022 “Ticket To Paradise” (** out of four) was a soggy romantic comedy about a bitterly divorced couple (George Clooney and Julia Roberts) who discover that their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) is getting married in Bali and they frantically travel there to try and stop her from making the same mistake they made when they were her age. Funny at first but then fizzles into a state of predictability and never gets its full bounce back again. Fans of the stars should probably take a look but this is still hardly worth buying a “ticket” for. This marks Clooney and Roberts’ fifth collaboration together. Continue reading →
November 18, 2022 “Shady Grove” (** out of four) was a pretentious horror potboiler about a young couple (Niki McElroy and Todd Anthony) who attempt to leave their partying lifestyle behind them and go vacationing in a remote cabin in the woods and (what else) are besieged by a group of sinister forces that threaten their lives and their sanity. Few could have predicted back in 2008 when “The Strangers” came out that it would be imitated and ripped off countless times in the near-15 years since but seeing is believing. Good performances help you stay with film’s plodding place and bizarre plot twists but you’ve seen this all before and better. McElroy also co-wrote and co-produced. Continue reading →
November 18, 2022 “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (** out of four) was a lumpy sequel to the 2018 smash about the kingdom of Wakanda (Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and others) who are mourning the death of King T’Challa and have to unite to fight off intervening powers which threaten to overtake them and present worldwide devastation. Fierce and exciting opening grabs your attention but film soon lags and becomes talky and meandering. Typical Marvel slam-bang action finale brings film back on track but film is fatally overlong at nearly three hours. Bassett stands out as usual as Queen Ramonda but Chadwick Boseman and his effortless charisma are sorely missed. Continue reading →
November 17, 2022 “Christmas In Paradise” (** out of four) was a flimsy comedy melodrama about 2 sisters (Elizabeth Hurley and Nathalie Cox) who find out that their father (Kelsey Grammar) has disappeared to a Carribean island and is dying of terminal cancer so they go to the island and try to convince him to come home for the holidays and spend his remaining days with them. Pointless and artificial movie is given a boost by Grammar’s strong performance and solid work from the ageless Hurley. Billy Ray Cyrus shows up in a superfluous supporting role as a singer but sorry to say his performance is achy breaky awful. Continue reading →
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