July 22, 2021 “How To Deter A Robber” (*1/2 out of four) was an irritating story about two inept burglars (Abbie Cobb and Sonny Valicenti) on Christmas Eve who break into the home of a young girl (Vanessa Marano) and her moron boyfriend (Benjamin Papac) and her uncle (Chris Mulkey) who turn the tables on them and attempt to thwart them and take back their home. Film has a hard time making up its mind whether its a witless comedy or a by-the-numbers violent melodrama so it comes close to being nothing; a few scattershot chuckles don’t build to anything more than that. Talented cast is left high-and-dry. Continue reading →
July 21, 2021 “Masquerade” (** out of four) was an unnecessary horror melodrama about a young girl (Alyvia Alyn Lind) who must survive the night after a group of intruders (Michael Proctor and Skyler Samuels) break into her family’s home to steal their priceless art collection. Reasonably watchable but yet another home-invasion story in the vein of “Desperate Hours” and “The Purge” that is pretty basic and predictable. It might be time to put this genre to rest for a little while. No relation to the 1988 Rob Lowe/Meg Tilly cult classic of the same name Continue reading →
July 21, 2021 “Horror In The High Desert” (**) was a bland pseudo-documentary about an enthusiastic outdoorsman named Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis) who vanished in 2017 and various friends, family members, and conspiracy theorists (Suziey Block, Tonya Williams Ogden, David Morales, and others) are all interviewed and theorize about the real reasons for his disappearance. Not bad and some of the performances by the concerned friends and family members are authentic and convincing but after a while you may start wondering who the hell was this guy and why do you have to watch an entire film about his disappearance? Not much horror per se but lots of faux-interviews and news footage. Continue reading →
July 20, 2021 “Big Cat Trail” (* out of four) was an amateurish horror mess about three couples (Beau Yotty, Lisa Barnes, Katrina Kelly, and others) who go into the mountain for an overnight hike and soon find themselves (what else?) fighting for their lives as an otherworldly creature mauls and kills them all one at a time. Looks like someone’s bad home movies and is totally bereft of any scares or chills. Nearly 50 years later- audiences are still having to pay for having made “Deliverance” such a smash hit. Yotty also wrote, produced, and directed and all you can say is hopefully he’s on the “trail” of better things to come. Continue reading →
July 20, 2021 “After The End” (** out of four) was a trite futuristic melodrama set in the after-effects of a worldwide virus outbreak and a group of survivors (Jasper Bagg, Lee Beckhurst, Nick Cain, and others) in the Australian outback who struggle to survive but encounter and take in a rogue female survivor (Amelia Corneby) and then come to find out that the real enemy is each other as they all gradually turn against one another one by one. Umpteenth post-apocalyptic/end-of-the-world story covers all-too-familiar territory covered by “The Road” and many others and all owes more than a bit to “Lord Of The Flies” as well. Gorgeous Australian scenery and locations are a highlight throughout but let’s hope this is “the end” of this genre for a while. Continue reading →
July 19, 2021 “Dark Ritual” (*1/2 out of four) was a grim horror thriller about a young woman (Natali Jones) with a dark past whose brother disappeared under mysterious circumstances; she then sets off to find out exactly what happened to him while her concerned mother (Lisa Wilcox) tries to help but they both soon find out that he may have been taken by something (yawn) not of this Earth. Sunk by arbitrary plot points and shoddy production values that make this a waste of time. Horror fans may remember Wilcox as the lead from “A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master”- a reminder on the right way to make this kind of story. Continue reading →
July 18, 2021 “Pig” (*1/2 out of four) was an ultra-weird melodrama about a haggard recluse (Nicholas Cage) who lives in the Oregon wilderness who has to return to his former life and venture back out into the real world when his beloved pig is kidnapped. A return of sorts for Cage to his eccentric independent acting roles of the ’80’s (“Vampire’s Kiss”, “Peggy Sue Got Married”, etc.) but otherwise this is pretty pointless and banal. Patrick Scola’s moody cinematography is a definite plus but filmgoers would best stay at home and eat a pound of bacon instead. Continue reading →
July 18, 2021 “Space Jam: A New Legacy” (*** out of four) was a delightful sequel to the 1996 smash about a rogue artificial intelligence agent (Don Cheadle) who kidnaps the son (Cedric Joe) of legendary basketball player Lebron James (playing himself) who has to travel into the outer regions of space to team with Bugs Bunny and win an intergalactic basketball game! Story doesn’t always make sense but is so packed with enthusiastic energy, psychedelic and stunning visuals, and upbeat performances that it’s fun from start to finish and easily tops it’s double-dribbled and fumbled predecessor. James is charismatic and likeable in the lead and many others show up in uncredited supporting roles which make it even more entertaining. Continue reading →
July 17, 2021 “Ascendant” (** out of four) was an ambitious but muddled futuristic sci/fi melodrama about a young environmentalist (Charlotte Best) who wakes up trapped and kidnapped in a mysterious elevator and has to try to psychologically and physically survive while trying to uncover her unseen tormentors (Johnny Paslovsky and Andrew Jack) and stop them as well. Directed with tension and style by Antaine Furlong and vibrantly shot by Frank Flick but story loses its way after a while and eventually descends. No relation to the “Divergent” series but similar in many ways to M. Night Shymalahan’s “Devil” but with different aura and themes. Continue reading →
July 17, 2021 “Black Widow” (*** out of four) was a sleek adaptation of the Marvel Comics story showing her origins and how she started off as Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannson) and grew up with a sister figure (Florence Pugh) and a Russian super-soldier (David Harbour) who helped mold her into a highly trained KGB assassin and lethal fighting machine who would go onto save the world. Not a great film, as story is thin yet goes in too many different directions with different characters, but overall entertaining for Marvel and comic-book fans. Final half-hour action blowout definitely makes up for a lot. Johannson is strong as iron in the lead. Continue reading →
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