Author: dlepikcom

“Survive The Game” (*1/2 out of four) was a sub-routine action potboiler about a dedicated family man (Chad Michael Murray) whose life is interrupted when an over-the-hill cop (who else but Bruce Willis?) and a group of criminals (Donna D’Erico, Sean Kanan, Swen Temmel, and others) show up and they all turn on each other. Hard to believe that a similarly titled (“Survive The Night”) film with the same stars (Willis and Murray) could come out in the same year but maybe this really is proof that action filmmakers are bankrupt of new ideas. Willis sleepwalks his way through this and picks up another easy check; this one will die hard and fast at the Redbox machines.

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“While We Sleep” (** out of four) was a muted horror melodrama about a dedicated radiologist (Darya Tregubova) who begins to investigate the abnormal CAT-scan of a young girl (Lyra Irene Gross) and begins to uncover dark and lurid secrets of her household that may threaten her and the girl’s family. Elegantly made and extremely well shot (it was directed by Andrsez Sakula who shot “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction”) but story never builds to anything satisfying and mostly just plods. Far from the worst of its ilk but after a while it may just put you to “sleep.”

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“Skinned Deep” (* out of four) was an amateurishly inept horror thriller about a family on vacation that are abducted by a group of cannibalistic killers and they have to band together to fight their way out and survive. Umpteenth film derived from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Deliverance” with no new style or innovation to add to the party but plenty of bad acting and filmmaking. “Superficial” may have been a better title for this timewaster.

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“Gunfight At Dry River” (** out of four) was a mostly lackluster Western set in 1888 along the U.S.-Mexican border in the title town which has been debilitated by a drought but the promise of gold brings hope and greed to its townsfolk (Michael Moriarty, Charlie Creed-Miles, Ann Mitchell, and others) which leads to a frontier battle. Lots of standoffs, saloon fights, and sunsets but it’s all very routine and covers all-too-familiar Western terrain. By this point, it might be time for the Western genre to ride off into the sunset.

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“The Good Things Devils Do” (* out of four) is an example of the bad things indie filmmakers do when they have a variety of influences but no story to tell; a ruthless gangster (Bill Oberst, Jr.) wants to retire but attempts one last heist beforehand and elsewhere a family man (David Rucker III) acquires the remains of a notorious vampire and their paths collide on one twisted Halloween night. Jammed with macabre black humor and homages to other horror thrillers but it’s an amateurish mess. This looks like something regurgitated by Rob Zombie. Other past horror stars (Kane Hodder, Linnea Quigley, Jeff Alexander) show up in cameos but this is doubtful to bring many “good things” back to their career.

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“Through The Glass Darkly” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately well-done small-town murder melodrama about a middle-aged woman (Robyn Lively) whose daughter disappears; one year later another girl disappears and she begins to investigate to try and uncover a link between the two while local law enforcement want to keep things quiet and she begins to suspect there is a tie between the two. Well-captured with mood and emotional power by writer/director Lauren Fash and cinematographer Damian Horan but it gradually wanes before its finish. An interesting feature-film return for Lively who fans may remember from “The Karate Kid 3” and “Teen Witch.”

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“Coming Home In The Dark” (** out of four) was an artful but empty horror thriller about a schoolteacher (Erik Thomson) out on a road trip with his family and is forced to confront dark secrets from his past when they are terrorized by two drifters (Daniel Gillies and Mattias Luafutu). Unusually crisp and moody cinematography from Matt Henley is a definite highlight throughout but film never builds much substantial momentum or scares and covers all-too-familiar terrain. Based on a short story by Owen Marshall and short is likely what this should have stayed.

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“East Of The Mountains” (** out of four) was an uninvolving adaptation of David Guterson’s best-selling novel about a retired heart surgeon (Tom Skerritt) who learns he has terminal cancer and then takes his dog out with him for one last trek into the wilderness as he seeks to end his life on his own terms. Beautifully filmed by Sebastien Scandiuzzi and with a few effective moments scattered throughout but this goes South pretty quickly, as it meanders and dawdles. Mira Sorvino is wasted as Skerritt’s concerned daughter. Similar story was covered more richly in 2015’s “A Walk In The Woods.”

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“Witches Of Blackwood” (** out of four) was a curiously flat and glum supernatural thriller about a cop (Cassandra Macgrath) with PTSD who returns home to sort out various family problems and becomes entangled with a group of witches who are plotting out evil doings on her town. Intelligently written and made especially for this type of film and Macgrath does her best to hold this together but it’s a lumpy brew at best. Re-watch “The Craft” or “Witches Of Eastwick” instead.

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“Dune” (** out of four) was a hollow adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel/remake of David Lynch’s 1984 cult classic about the son (Timothy Chalamet) of a wealthy and noble family who is entrusted with the protection and vitality of the earth’s galaxy and encounters various mentors (Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaacs, Josh Brolin, and others) and villains (Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and others) along the way. Director Denis Villeneuve enhances many stylish and hypnotic visuals to keep you engaged but with nothing to hang them on since the story, script, and characters are still so dull. About on par with Villeneuve’s reboot of “Blade Runner 2049” although in fairness this is marginally more watchable than the 1984 original.

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