January 3, 2023 “M3gan” (** out of four) was a jumbled horror thriller about a brilliant robotics engineer (Allison Williams) who gains custody of her niece (Violet McGraw) and then builds the title lifelike doll for her to protect her and be her companion but naturally things go horribly wrong when the doll develops a mind of her own and becomes overprotective and savagely violent. Yet another movie about artificial intelligence that feels artificial and doesn’t have very much intelligence; film is a derivation of Spielberg/Kubrick’s “A.I.” and also “Annabelle” and “Child’s Play” and is only made for those who’ve never seen any of those previously. James Wan was one of film’s producers. Continue reading →
January 3, 2023 “Secret Headquarters” (** out of four) was a juvenile action-fantasy about a young kid (Walker Scobell) who discovers with his friends that the headquarters of the world’s greatest superhero exists beneath his home and it belongs to none other than his father (Owen Wilson) and they must band together to defend their turf and save the world when a unscrupulous villain (Michael Pena) attacks and threatens mankind. Aimed squarely at young viewers with its plot of kids and their parents attempting to save the world but lacking in joy and any real “fun.” Wilson is more tolerable than usual but Pena is pretty one-note as the villain. Continue reading →
December 31, 2022 “Nightshade” (*1/2 out of four) was a stilted suspense melodrama about a homicide detective (Lou Ferrigno, Jr..) whose disturbing nightmares start to run parallel with an ongoing murder investigation; is he really the killer or are these in some way linked to his psychiatrist (Dina Meyer) who may be hypnotizing and influencing him? Film is like a rubik’s cube you don’t want to put together since nothing makes particular sense and the lead character (and performance of Ferrigno, Jr.) is so dull. Meyer does what she can with a thankless role and Jason Patric is wasted in a few jaw-droppingly irrelevant scenes as a belligerent dad. Continue reading →
December 31, 2022 “Last Survivors” (*1/2 out of four) was a curiously flat and unaffecting melodrama about a father-and-son (Drew Van Acker and Stephen Moyer) whose solitary existence in the wilderness is disrupted when the son meets and falls in love with an outsider (Alicia Silverstone) and the father feels the need to kill her to continue their existential solitude and the son in turn feels the need to protect her. Potentially intriguing storyline is bungled by muddled script and direction that yields little emotional power or tension. Silverstone’s usual strong performance and Julian Estrada’s crisp cinematography are film’s sole virtues. Continue reading →
December 31, 2022 “Take Back” (*1/2 out of four) was a sub-routine action thriller about a seemingly happy couple (Michael Jai White and Gillian White) whose domestic bliss is interrupted when a mysterious figure (Mickey Rourke) from her past re-emerges and pulls them both into the ugly underworld of sex trafficking while various cops (James Russo, Vince DeCosta, and others) investigate all of them. Good cast is wasted in a by-the-numbers story which becomes unnecessarily unpleasant at times. Jai White does his best to keep film alive with his usual martial-arts and cool charisma but by the end- you’ll want to “take back” your hour-and-a-half and rental fee. Continue reading →
December 31, 2022 “The Rookies” (*** out of four) was a frenzied action thriller about an international sports athlete (Talu Wang) who gets involved in illegal foreign trade and follows a special agent (Milla Jovovich) to Budapest and becomes in death-defying organized crime and espionage. Thin storyline is hardly worth scrutinizing over but film breathlessly moves from one action setpiece to the next and never stops moving. Script and characters are best described as one-note but film throws in everything but the kitchen sink to certainly keep you entertained. Hardly worth remembering but fast and fun while it lasts especially for action junkies. Continue reading →
December 30, 2022 “Last Ones There” (* out of four) was a desperately awful horror thriller about four friends (Benjamin Robitaille, Dan Curtis Thompson, John Kenniphass, Adam Barton) who go on a camping trip and before anyone can say “Deliverance” they’re besieged and mauled and have to band together to fight back and stay alive. Aside from the aforementioned obvious, film also rips off “Wrong Turn” and “Mother’s Day” which at the time were looked at as “Deliverance” ripoffs but look like prime Hitchcock compared to trifle like this. Be sure to make this “last” on your Redbox list. Continue reading →
December 30, 2022 “The Pale Blue Eye” (*1/2 out of four) was a pallid historical melodrama set in 1830 New York in which a world-weary detective (Christian Bale) is called in to investigate a mysterious murder of a cadet at an illustrious academy; when he is stymied by the locals’ code of silence, he is forced to turn to a young writer named Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) to help him solve the crime. Colorless story set against an interesting backdrop but is a real bore; even the usually solid Bale is stiff and one-note. Die-hard Poe fans might find more substance and interest here but others should beware. Continue reading →
December 28, 2022 “Survivor’s Choice” (*1/2 out of four) was a ludicrous suspense thriller about three members (David Clair-Bennett, Dan Pena, Sarah Ooten) of Narcotics Anonymous who find themselves locked in a deadly escape room in which they have to unlock the various secrets of their past to escape and to survive. Star Bennett also wrote, directed, edited, and did the story for this nearly unsurvivable disaster. Film’s acting and filmmaking are so bad it could make anyone need a self-help meeting of their own. Eric Roberts in voice only plays the host of the escape room they’re in. Why he keeps making the “choice” to keep appearing in these low-budget clinkers is film’s real mystery. Continue reading →
December 28, 2022 “Conjuring: The Beyond” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable horror claptrap about a sleep study that starts to go awry when various participants (Victoria Grace Borello, Steve Larkin, and others) start to go missing; could they have disappeared or are they more possible victims of the “Conjuring” demons? Lackluster attempt to cash in on that film’s brand name makes you wish that horror filmmakers would finally start to “conjure” up some new and fresh ideas. Film’s central theme revolves around sleep but it will ironically put most viewers to sleep instead. Continue reading →
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