July 4, 2022 “Thor: God Of Thunder” (** out of four) was a flimsy action adventure about the mighty Thor (Myrom Kingery) who has to pursue his evil uncle Loki (Daniel O’Reilly) who plans to destroy a tree which holds the power of the universe leading to a battle between them for the fate of the universe and mankind as a whole. Allegedly based on the video game of the same name and NOT in any way connected to the Marvel blockbuster series; not bad for what it is but hindered by cheesy production and filmmaking. Fans would best wait for the similarly titled “Thor: Love And Thunder” out next week. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Night Blooms” (** out of four) was a languid melodrama about a troubled young girl (Jessica Clement) who begins in an affair with her best friend’s dad (Nick Stahl) but this obviously leads to moral/personal/legal consequences for the both of them as they both finds themselves at a crossroads in their life over what to do. Shallow and predictable story of young lust and rebellion and moral choices doesn’t go deep enough to carry much power or charge. Clement is good in the lead but her character is awfully aloof and obtuse. Continue reading →
July 4, 2022 “Revealer” (** out of four) was a sordid suspense melodrama about a stripper (Caito Aase) and a religious protester (Shaina Schrooten) who are trapped together in a peep-show booth (!) but must put their differences aside to survive the apocalypse as all Hell is breaking loose around them. Not entirely disposable as film is directed with some flair by Luke Boyce and has candy-colored cinematography from Robert Patrick Stern but is too unseemly and routine to score overall. Set for no particular reason in the ’80’s. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Terror On The Prairie” (*1/2 out of four) was a leaden melodrama about a fiercely independent frontier woman (Gina Carano) who has to protect herself and fight to stay alive when a ruthless gang of outlaws (Nick Searcy, Donald Cerrone, and others) show up and are out for bloodthirsty revenge. Plodding story moves in fits and starts and goes on forever. Carano is one-note and Searcy chews the scenery but it’s all flavorless and stale. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Death Alley” (*1/2 out of four) was a jerry-built Western set in 1892 in which the Dalton Gang (Joshua Outzen, Justin France, Tristan Campbell, and others) set out to become the most famous outlaws in America but this lead them to all-out war with other gangs and various law enforcement. If you ever want to see a virtual library of Western cliches (saloon fights, gun standoffs, lots of….dust), look no further. Perhaps it’s time to retire the Western genre before it itself suffers its own “death.” Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Dark Light” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller about an Interpol detective (Damian Chapa) who investigates a series of bizarre murders in Ireland; a beautiful woman (Estefania Villaespesa) is blamed for the murders but he begins to suspect that there might be more than meets the eye and this investigation brings him to the church and investigating a possible stigmata. Rockbottom clunker looks cheap and goes nowhere slowly. Even the Ireland scenery looks dreary. Chapa also wrote, directed, and co-produced this mess. Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Hot Seat” (** out of four) was a middling action potboiler about a former hacker (Kevin Dillon) who arrives at work and finds out he literally cannot leave his seat unless he hacks into a high-level bank and is tormented by an unseen perpetrator while a burnt out cop (who else but Mel Gibson) tries to break in and rescue him. Relatively well-made and well-acted but never rises above solid mediocrity. Dillon does his best to enliven things with his rogue charisma but Gibson a… Continue reading →
July 3, 2022 “Last The Night” (** out of four) was a predictable suspense melodrama about a teacher (Brian Austin Green) on the verge of a mental breakdown after being separated from his wife and daughter in the midst of the pandemic; upon hearing some of his students (Julia Quang, Acorye White, and others) make fun of him online, he goes berserk and on a bloody rampage vowing to make them pay. Interesting irony in having one-time 90210 actor Green as a high-school teacher but that’s about it here for surprises. Proficiently made but otherwise pretty forgettable. Continue reading →
July 1, 2022 “Losing Addison” (*1/2 out of four) was an incomprehensible psychodrama about twin brothers (Adam Elliott Davis and Joel Robert Walker) who spend their whole lives having a psychic and spiritual connection; when one brother decides to sever their connection, the other mentally unravels leading to one of them possibly murdering their ailing mother (Sherilyn Fenn). Story is told in flashbacks and fragments but is basically a jigsaw puzzle not worth putting together since you don’t care about any of the characters. Film won awards at Oregon Independent Film Festival and Amsterdam International Festival but they must be “losing” their grip on reality. Continue reading →
July 1, 2022 “Woodland Grey” (**1/2 out of four) was an elegant but empty suspense melodrama about a man (Ryan Blakely) living in isolation in the woods who saves the life of a young woman (Jenny Raven) and nurses her back to health; she is initially grateful to him but soon begins to realize that all is not what it seems and she makes a terrifying discovery and then realizes her life is in danger. Film is extremely well-made with crisp cinematography by Graham Guertin Santerre and a haunting and foreboding music score by Daniele Caretta Skye Klein but central story and characters aren’t all that compelling so film doesn’t deliver. “Misery” told more-or-less the same story with more suspense and scares. Continue reading →
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