Author: dlepikcom

“The First Omen” (** out of four) was a pallid prequel to the 1976 classic about a young American woman (Nell Tiger Free) who is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church but soon uncovers a sinister darkness within the church that leads to her questioning her faith and uncovers a religious conspiracy for her to give birth to the Devil incarnate. Scares and suspense are minimal and film is yet another jargon of pseudo-religious horror babble that seemed stale years ago. Good atmosphere and performances help to keep you watching but this falls far short of the original and also its solid 2006 remake.

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“Far Haven” (*** out of four) was a sharply done Western about a disgraced gunslinger (Bailey Chase) who moves back to the title town to avenge an attack on his father-in-law (Bruce Boxleitner) and wage a one-man war and resistance against a corrupt sheriff (Chris Mulkey) and his evil forces throughout the town. Permeated with the usual Western cliches of gun-battles and saloon fights but it’s fierce and exciting with some strong dialogue from writers Dustin Rickert and William Shockley and anchored by a commanding lead performance from Chase. Invigorating music score from Tom Gire is a definite plus throughout.

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“Island Of The Dolls 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless horror thriller about a documentary crew (Yasmine Alice, Tom Beechcroft, Isaaiah Bob-Semple, and others) who visit the title island where they encounter the evil spirit of Santana (Jenna N. Wilson) who begins hunting them down one-by-one. Top choice for most unnecessary sequel of the year to a film that only came out a few months ago. Marginally better than the original due to some stylish and creepy imagery but that’s a very relative compliment.

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“The Gates” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller about a serial killer (Richard Brake) who is sentenced to death in London in the 1890’s but in his final hours he puts a curse on the prison and all prison workers and inmates (Donal O’Shea, Sarah Noll, Peter Coonan, and others) there and (yawn) all Hell breaks loose. Overlong and overly dour thriller missing any key ingredients of fun and scares. It’s duds like this that make you think that the similarly themed “Shocker” and “Fallen” weren’t that bad by comparison.

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“The Beautiful Game” (** out of four) was an earnest but empty melodrama about various advocates (Bill Nighy, Valeria Golino, and others) who sought to end homelessness by organizing a soccer tournament of homeless men (Micheal Ward, Beckett Hanley, and others) to compete in a renowned match The Homeless World Cup which attracted much more recognition and attention than ever imagined. Inspirational but uninspired, as story never has the depth or dramatic intensity that subject matters requires and goes on far too long at over two hours. Good performances can’t camouflage undernourished material.

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“Snow Valley” (* out of four) was an almost unendurable horror comedy about a group of friends (Barbara Crampton, Rachael Michiko Whitney, Cooper van Grootel, and others) who go on a ski weekend which goes awry when a dark supernatural force threatens to overtake them and kill them off. Full of obnoxious characters and smarmy acting with dumb dialogue; in other words a real mess. It’s timewasters like this that killed the horror genre back in the ’80’s. Inauspicious directorial debut from Brandon Murphy who in better days was the writer of “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.”

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“The Stones And Brian Jones” (*** out of four) was a stark documentary about Brian Jones who founded The Rolling Stones but then found himself overpowered by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and subsequently found himself overwhelmed with drug and alcohol addiction that resulted in him being fired and led to his untimely death at 27 years old. Very well-done film by veteran documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield about a tragic and little-known figure in rock history. Film features candid interviews with both Mick and Keith and Marianne Faithfull and Eric Burdon of The Animals.

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“Molli And Max In The Future” (*1/2 out of four) was an ungainly futuristic comedy about the title characters (Zosia Mamet and Aristotle Athari) whose orbits repeatedly collide over the course of 12 years, 4 planets, 3 dimensions, and one space-cult. Writer/director Michael Lukk Litwak and cinematographer Zach Stoltsfus give this imaginative visuals but it still can’t buoy this strained and unfunny concoction. Yet still, this won some awards and recognition at last year’s SXSW Festival.

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“Freud’s Last Session” (** out of four) was a dour and drab historical melodrama set during World War II in which Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) and C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) meet and discuss the meaning of life, God, and philosophy, and how their differing worldviews and viewpoints are examples of existentialism. Strong acting by the two leads can’t elevate a talky and tedious script that is almost completely absent of any real dramatic fire. Might have worked better as a two-character play. Hopkins actually played C.S. Lewis in 1993’s “Shadowlands” which was a far richer and more compelling film.

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“Bob Marley: One Love” (**1/2 out of four) was a nicely textured but frustratingly one-note biographical drama about reggae legend Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) set during his rise to fame in 1976-1978 when he was striving for musical stardom and world unity. Best thing about the film is Adir who is charismatic and compelling in the lead role but film is too slight and superficial and doesn’t tell you anything about Marley and his childhood and pre-fame story. At the very end, you see the real Bob Marley in documentary footage. You might leave the film still wanting to see a biography about him.

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