January 21, 2020 “Sorry We Missed You” (**1/2 out of four) was an earnest but meandering story set in England in which a UK delivery driver (Kris Hitchen) and his wife (Debby Honeywood) struggle to raise a family and survive but end up overwhelmed by the various struggles of labor exploitation and raising a delinquent son (Rhys Stone) and trying to stay afloat through it all. Director Ken Loach employs his usual working-class and humanistic touch to characters who are simply trying to survive and no know other way of life but story wanders too much and film doesn’t so much end as stop. Naturalistic and powerful acting from all (especially Honeywood) makes this worthwhile. Continue reading →
January 13, 2020 “Dolittle” (*** out of four) was a likeable reboot of the “Doctor Dolittle” franchise this time with Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role who has turned into a hermit after the death of his wife in England but when Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) falls ill- he must re-discover his sense of adventure and love of animals to set sail and find a cure to save her. Not a total success but still breezy and engaging and full of cute animals and their wisecracks. Downey is a little miscast but does what he can with his role and his English accent. Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, and others provide the entertaining voices of the animals. Continue reading →
January 9, 2020 “Stalked” (** out of four) was a tiresome horror thriller about a young woman (Nathalie Buscombe) who wakes up in a deserted factory where she realizes she is being terrorized by an invisible force which she has to out-think and out-smart if she wants to stay alive. Buscombe does what she can with her role and there are some good moments but a little of this goes a long way, as film starts to wear out and become unpleasant. Actually rips off “Saw” in a few scenes among a few others. Continue reading →
January 8, 2020 “Grand Isle” (*1/2 out of four) was a leaden Southern Gothic melodrama about a handyman (Luke Benward) who is arrested for murder and has to prove his innocence by recounting what happened the night of his arrest involving a bizarre family (Nicholas Cage and Kadee Strickland) who he was working for. Director Stephen Campanelli infuses this with a heavy atmosphere but everything else about it is heavy as well, including Cage who more-or-less is playing the same character he did in “Con Air.” For a richer and more striking look at similar characters, watch 1987’s “Angel Heart” instead. Continue reading →
January 8, 2020 “Shattered Memories” (*1/2 out of four) was a ludicrous melodrama about a young woman (Helena Mattsson) who is severely disfigured and injured after a car crash and wakes up in a hospital with a fragmented memory but begins to piece together pieces of her past involving her husband (Dan Sevier) and realizes that things weren’t quite right even before the crash. Rips off Wolfgang Petersen’s similarly titled “Shattered” right down to its title and film poster and even the husband’s name being Dan but aside from that- it bears none of that film’s hypnotic style or twists and films’ ending is laughable. Continue reading →
January 8, 2020 “The Tombs” (*1/2 out of four) was a thoroughly by-the-numbers horror show about a live-streamed publicity stunt filmed inside the terrifying underground of London’s tombs in which a group of reality show performers (Ria Fend, Jessica Cameron, Jess Impiazzi, and others) are in fear for their lives when an evil spirit is awakened from one of the tombs and they realize they all might be in jeopardy. It’s movies like these that effectively buried the horror genre in the ’80’s before “Scream” brought it back with a vengeance. This one deserves to be buried beneath the tombs. Continue reading →
January 8, 2020 “Mr. Happy” (0 stars out of four) was a worthless horror story that looks like someone’s bad home movies about a family (Chase Spears, Lucas Spears, Mark Spears) who are besieged by the title character who wants to terrorize them and drive them crazy. Viewers who last to the end of this will likely no exactly how they feel, if they’re not already driven crazy by the amateurish handheld camerawork and patchwork editing. This was apparently a family affair since Mark Spears was the writer-director and co-star but the results aren’t likely to make him (or audiences) happy. Continue reading →
January 7, 2020 “The Gentlemen” (** out of four) was an uneven and unwieldy underworld yarn about an American crime lord (Matthew McConaughey) who is looking to sell his marijuana empire but this triggers a series of shootings, backstabbings, and double-crosses from a series of other gangsters (Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, and others) who are trying to steal it from him before he can cash out. Typical Guy Ritchie affair with lots of flash and style but little sense or emotional filling. Matthew McConaughey’s effortless charisma helps keep this watchable for a little while and Hugh Grant is solid in an unusual part as a thug. Whatever; Ritchie told almost the same story to perfection decades ago with “Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.” Continue reading →
January 6, 2020 “The Grudge” (*1/2 out of four) was more-of-the-same supernatural hooey about a cursed house which dooms anyone who enters it and a determined cop (Andrea Riseborough) starts to investigate and finds that there may be more-than-meets-the-eye. Or something like that. Somewhat more stylish and atmospheric than the Godawful 2004 remake but unlikely to win any new converts for anyone who isn’t a series fan. One of the film’s producers was Sam Raimi but he could make betters films than this in his sleep. Continue reading →
January 3, 2020 “Bulletproof 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a crudely done action story about the returning characters from the original Jack (Kirk Fox) and Moses (Kirk Fox) having to reunite and reteam with one another when their identities get switched (don’t ask) as they both attempt to take down a South African crime family. Top choice for one of the most unnecessary sequels of all time but in all fairness- it’s almost just as contrived and stupid as the 1996 original. Lots of action and wisecracks produces lots of headaches. Strictly for those who thought the original was robbed at Oscar time. Continue reading →
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