November 10, 2023 “Hell’s Coming For You” (*1/2 out of four) was an anonymous horror melodrama about an international bounty hunter (Dillon Dilliagaf) who is now paralyzed but faces grave enemies from former criminals he apprehended in the past and soon finds that all Hell is about to break loose (but not really). Star Dilliagaf is a real-life disabled paraplegic and probably deserves a much better starring vehicle than this forgettable trifle. All you can hope is that better scripts and roles will be “coming” his way soon. Continue reading →
November 9, 2023 “Rumble Through The Dark” (** out of four) was a flat-footed melodrama set in the Mississippi Delta in which an aging bare-knuckled fighter (Aaron Eckhart) agrees to step back in the ring for one last fight to pay off him and his mother’s (Marianne Jean-Batiste) debts to the local mob and save their family house. Eckhart is solid as usual in a change-of-pace role for him and there are some poignant individual moments but these are lost within film’s routine framework and overlength. Rich music score by Brad Smith is a definite highlight. Continue reading →
November 9, 2023 “Secrets Of A Celebrity Nanny” (*1/2 out of four) was a bland collection of suspense and horror cliches about a nanny (Yolanthe Cabau) who is hired to care for a celebrity but soon becomes worried for her safety when strange occurrences start happening and she subsequently learns that the previous nanny was murdered but by whom? Typical suspense thriller whodunit in which you don’t care much about the who or the why. Competent direction from seasoned television filmmaker Dylan Vox can’t overcome awesomely hackneyed script and story. Continue reading →
November 7, 2023November 7, 2023 “A Haunting In Venice” (** out of four) was a leaden suspense melodrama about the detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) who now lives in exile in post-World War II Italy and attends a seance with others (Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, and others) and when one of the guests turns up murdered, it is up to him to put back on his detective jacket and find the killer. Third of Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations begins well and is alluringly shot but soon fizzles out and becomes dry and sluggish. By the end, it’s a whodunit which you don’t care about who did it or why. Fey fares best in her first non-comic role. Continue reading →
November 6, 2023 “The Killer” (** out of four) was a pretty dull noirish melodrama about a professional assassin (Michael Fassbender) who is battling to stay alive when faced with a conflict with various employers which challenges his own code of ethics and survival skills. With David Fincher at the helm, you know you’re going to get style but you don’t get much else in the muddled and pretentious proceedings. Long stretches of silence and slow-motion don’t add anything and film has hardly any story. Extremely similar to previous hitman-stories “The American” and “A Prayer For The Dying”. Continue reading →
November 5, 2023 “A Tale Of Two Guns” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster Western that fires all blanks about a determined marshall (Tom Berenger) who attempts to put an end to the violent siege of various gunfighters (Casper Van Dien, Jeff Fahey, and Danny Trejo) leading to a bloody showdown. Western filmmaking by-the-numbers with saloons, shootouts, lots of dust but not lots of excitement and much of the cast are wasted. Does anyone remember when these types of movies were actually fun? Continue reading →
November 5, 2023 “Death On The Border” (** out of four) was a half-hearted suspense melodrama about a woman (Shannon Elizabeth) trying to help a detective (Frank Whaley) who has hit rock-bottom by trafficking in illegals across the Mexican border which leads to involvement with various cops and underworld enforcers (Eric Roberts, Danny Trejo, and others). Topical story of sex-trafficking and border chaos has a solid cast but mild and sputtering results. You can only imagine what Sam Peckinpah and Walter Hill might have done with material like this. Continue reading →
November 5, 2023 “Ape Vs. Mecha Ape” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheesy action thriller about the military (Tom Arnold, Anna Telfer, and others) who have recognized the power of their captive giant ape and attempt to create an A.I. ape; when this goes horribly wrong, they have no choice but to release the captive ape to take down the artificial ape leading to a showdown in downtown Chicago. Threadbare effects combined with a tedious script without much action results in this being a slapdash bore. Yet another quick cash-in on “Godzilla Vs. King Kong” that hardly comes close. Continue reading →
November 4, 2023 “Snake Hotel” (* out of four) was a deadening horror thriller about a group of female inmates (Danielle Scott, Chrissie Wunna, Lila Lasso, and others) who make a deal to shorten their prison sentence by taking part in a reality show involving a gigantic killer snake. Sounds fun but is worthless on almost every level and even the snake looks bored. For a movie with more conviction and panache, watch “Snakes On A Plane” again instead. Continue reading →
November 3, 2023 “Locked In” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably done horror psychodrama that will make viewers themselves feel locked in their seats about a helpful nurse (Anna Friel) who is hired to attend to a patient (Famke Janssen) who has been in a coma and has severe mental/medical effects but soon finds there is more to her story than meets the eye and she uncovers dark secrets involving her doctor (Alex Hassell) and others (Finn Cole, Rose Williams, and others). Both inept and inert; the beautiful Janssen spends the entire film in a hospital bed and wheelchair, probably wishing Liam Neeson would finally agree to make “Taken 4.” Continue reading →
dlepikcom 