July 20, 2024 “A Sacrifice” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless collection of horror cliches about a social psychologist (Eric Bana) who is investigating strange phenomena connected to disturbing events; meanwhile his daughter (Sadie Sink) becomes enmeshed with a local boy (Jonas Dassler) who spells nothing but trouble. Film goes nowhere slowly and then devolves into over-the-top cerebral preposterousness in its final third. Ridley Scott was one of film’s co-producers but in no way is this worth “sacrificing” your own time on. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “Rendel: Cycle Of Revenge” (**1/2 out of four) was a sleek follow-up to the 2017 cult hit about a ruthless enforcer (Sean Cronin) who takes over the Vala Drug Corporation and the title vigilante (Kristoffer Gummerus) returns to business and re-opens his weaponry to take him down by any means necessary. Mostly routine and mechanical and doesn’t have any dramatic soul but has enough martial arts and gunplay to please fans of the original and action fans in general. Tero Saikonnen’s eye-candy cinematography is an undeniable standout throughout. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “Lumina” (** out of four) was an overlong, overly derivative sci/fi shock thriller about four friends (Emily Hall, Andrea Tivadar, and others) who search for their friend who has been abducted which takes them from various U.S. deserts to the sands of Sahara and brings them in contact with evil and otherworldly forces. Writer/director Gino McKoy shows some colorful talent and film is well-lensed and produced but outwears its welcome and wears thin at two hours. Eric Roberts picks up a couple of bucks in another token cameo role. Continue reading →
July 20, 2024 “The Blue Rose” (**1/2 out of four) was an initially enrapturing melodrama about two rookie detectives (Olivia Scott Welch and George Baron) who attempt to solve a homicide but wind up in an alternate reality made up of their worst dreams and nightmares and have to come to terms with their new reality in order to escape. Writer/director/star Baron works in a hallucinatory style obviously inspired by David Lynch (and “Blue Velvet” in particular)………but like some of Lynch’s work, it veers off after a while and becomes overly weird and pretentious and doesn’t fully recover. Still, film has enough dazzling stylistics and macabre touches to make Baron someone to keep your eye on. Continue reading →
July 19, 2024 “Murder Company” (**1/2 out of four) was a modestly well-done WWII melodrama set in the midst of the D-Day invasion in which a group of American soldiers (Kelsey Grammer, William Moseley, Joe Anderson, and others) are given orders to smuggle a soldier of the French resistance (Gilles Marini) behind enemy lines to help them assassinate a Nazi leader (Roman Schomburg). Undeniably limited in scope and grandeur due to its low budget but packs enough action and intrigue to make it worthwhile for history buffs. Grammer is especially commanding as the U.S. army general. Continue reading →
July 19, 2024 “Deadbolt” (** out of four) was a thuddingly predictable suspense thriller about a young woman (Rebecca Liddiard) who starts to lose her sanity as she meets a new guy (Jamie Spilchuk) and encounters a series of unexplained disappearances and chilling nocturnal echoes in her home that keep her up at night and keep her nerves on edge. Relatively well-made and with a solid lead performance from Liddiard but film lacks suspense and narrative momentum. Film reunites Liddiard and Spilchuk who were previously in the similarly mediocre “Danger In The House”. Continue reading →
July 19, 2024 “Space Sharks” (* out of four) was an almost completely inept sci/fi thriller about a military experiment conducted on a space station that goes awry and sends a breed of weaponized and ravenous sharks down to Earth to destroy humanity while a group of doctors and military personnel (Eric Roberts, Brinke Stevens, Scott Schwartz, and others) try to save the world. Sounds like trashy fun but trust me it isn’t and is sunk by shoddy filming and horrendous special effects that would make Ed Wood proud. Roberts picks up another easy paycheck with a token role. Continue reading →
July 18, 2024 “Longlegs” (** out of four) was a jagged but jaded suspense melodrama about an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) who is in pursuit of the title vicious serial killer (Nicolas Cage) and she has to uncover a series of clues to find out his whereabouts to end his reign of terror. Initially suspenseful and compelling with a tense atmosphere of malevolence and rot but soon sputters as it winds up one more pale imitation of both “Seven” and (especially) “The Silence Of The Lambs.” Recommended only for those who want to see Cage as never before, as he looks unrecognizable and chews and throws up the scenery as the killer. Continue reading →
July 17, 2024 “Faye” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently interesting documentary of legendary actress Faye Dunaway whose career rose to fame with “Bonnie And Clyde”, “The Thomas Crown Affair”, and “Chinatown” but began to gradually wane in the 1980’s as she battled alcoholism, mental health issues, and seclusion but still became a generational icon and inspiration to a series of new film actresses. Compelling at times especially for an actress who has rarely done interviews although it tends to wander at times. Film features interviews with also Sharon Stone, Barry Primus, and Mickey Rourke. Continue reading →
July 14, 2024 “Twisters” (**1/2 out of four) was a decent sequel to the 1996 blockbuster “classic” about a retired tornado-watcher (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and a hotshot meteorologist (Glenn Powell) who travel to Oklahoma to track a deadly tornado that is ripping through the Midwest and find themselves in for the ride of their lives. More-or-less a remake, and not a sequel, to the (overrated) original and similar to its many imitations over the years but spectacular visual effects, good action scenes, and good performances and chemistry between the leads (Powell and Jones) make it watchable. Final half-hour will have you holding on to your seat. Continue reading →
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