Author: dlepikcom

“The Drive-Away Dolls” (** out of four) was an excessively unpleasant road melodrama about two friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) who hit the road together to get away from their various problems but soon find far more as they are pursued by various miscreants and criminals. Director Ethan Coen’s first film without his brother Joel shows flashes of their quirky and macabre humor and also elements of their at times self-indulgence and ugliness. Hard-core Coen Bros. cinemaphiles may find some homages to their past classics but film still comes up as a hollow exercise in excess.

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“Ingress” (*1/2 out of four) was an interminable suspense psychodrama about a woman (Christina Ulloa) who can move between various realities and parallel time structures who tragically loses her husband (Tim Dekay) and has to attempt to move forward in a multiverse where she finds him and he is still alive. Intriguing storyline of different realities and realistics is stalled by jumbled and aloof storytelling which goes in too many different directions and goes on far too long. It’s no wonder by the end of it you may feel yourself going crazy.

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“Lovely, Dark, And Deep” (** out of four) was a trite horror melodrama about a troubled ranger (Georgina Campbell) who travels through a deadly and dangerous wilderness in an attempt to uncover the roots of a tragedy that damaged and affected her since she was a child. Good performance from Campbell and some effective moments of eerie suspense are deflected by film’s meandering pace and hokey dramatics. Film won widespread praise and acclaim at the Fantasia and Beyond film festivals but not much from this FB reviewer.

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“Stranger In The Woods” (*1/2 out of four) was a crudely done horror melodrama about a woman (Holly Kenney who also scripted) who takes a vacation with her friends (Brendin Brown, Paris Nicole, and others) in the middle of the woods; when her friends find her in the bathtub with a slit wrist, they believe she attempted suicide but she maintains that there is someone out there who has attempted to kill her. Routine and paint-by-numbers story with some shrill supporting characters and scenes that really grate on your nerves. Reminiscent in some ways (no kidding) of “The Strangers” and too many other horror movies about being stranded in the middle of the woods.

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“DarkGame” (*1/2 out of four) was a sordid suspense psychodrama about a detective (Ed Westwick) who is in a race against time to stop a twisted reality game show on the dark web in which captives have to compete for their lives but he finds that finding the host and locating the game itself is a grueling challenge. Ugly and unpleasant movie mashes gore and grime in your face and then thinks it’s making a colorful commentary on the same subject. Film attempts to be mind-bending and twisted but winds up like heavy-going trash.

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“The Omicron Killer” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame horror “comedy” about the title killer (Paugh Shadow) who goes on a rampage in a small town and takes his inspiration from various horror movie icons he has watched as a child while various townsfolk (Bai Ling, Felissa Rose, and others) try to trap him and stop him. Tongue-in-cheek but devoid of any wit and devoid of any brains or skill either while we’re on the subject. Collection of past horror movie icons are a waste.

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“Red Right Hand” (*1/2 out of four) was a wearying action melodrama about a former organized crime thug (Orlando Bloom) who is trying to leave his past life behind him and settle into a quiet existence in his nomadic Kentucky town but is forced back into his former lifestyle by a crime boss (a woefully miscast Andie Macdowell) and has to do anything necessary to survive. Initially endearing for the first 30 minutes but goes on so long and runs over so much unpleasant and predictable territory that it winds up a complete misfire.

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“Earworm” (* out of four) was incoherent gobblygook about a man (Evan Jones) with obvious cognitive/social/mental problems who agrees to join a self-help group but this brings his psychosis into even into even new dimensions and results in more paranoia and insanity for him (and the audience). Ridiculous movie might make just as much sense if you watched it backwards and exploits issues with mental health and trauma and doesn’t explore them. A grinding experience, for both the eyes and the ears.

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“The Beach House Murders” (*1/2 out of four) was an ill-conceived suspense thriller about a murder-mystery novelist (Brittney Dorey) who has a one-night affair with a stranger (CJ Hammond) who winds up dead and she becomes interrogated by the police and everyone around her (Ashli Auggilard, Kyle Williams, and others) becomes a suspect. So many red herrings and double-crosses and plot twists abound that by the end you’ll likely feel dizzy. Auggilard is good as her best friend but other performances are cartoonish and bland.

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“Kingdom Of Dust: Beheading Of Adam Smith” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty awful melodrama set in war-torn Baghdad in which an American hostage (Stephen Hogan) is waiting to die and he has to come to terms with his captors (Elyes Gabel, Alyy Khan, and others) and try to reason with them and understand their murderous viewpoints to try and save his own life. Minimalistic war-melodrama offers minimal suspense and dramatic interest, despite harrowing story. Made in 2011 and being released now but film has not aged like fine wine and seems like a dusty and moldy story from another era.

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