Author: dlepikcom

“Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” (** out of four) was a tired prequel to the Stephen King horror series set in 1969 about a young Jud Crandall (Jackson White) who aspires to leave his dead-end hometown of Ludlow, Maine but soon uncovers dark family secrets that lead to (yawn) animals rising from the dead and all Hell breaking loose. Again. Stylish direction from Lindsey Anderson Beer and some scares can’t pump much life into such stale material. The moody and seriously underrated “Pet Sematary II” remains the only worthiness of the lot. As they said in the original- sometimes dead really is better.

Continue reading →

“The Jester” (** out of four) was an unremarkable horror story set on Halloween Eve in which the title maniac (Michael Sheffield) terrorizes a small town and how two sisters (Lelia Symington and Delaney White) who try to put aside their differences and stop his reign of terror once and for all. Title character looks like a cross between the Joker and Art The Clown from “Terrifier” but film doesn’t have the mesmeric power or gore (or entertainment value) of either. Pretty well-made and acted but otherwise pretty routine and forgettable.

Continue reading →

“On Fire” (** out of four) was a serviceable melodrama about a family (Peter Facinelli, Fiona Dourif, Lance Henriksen, and others) whose wilderness home is displaced by a gigantic wildfire that threatens to engulf the area and they have to put aside their differences to stay together and stay alive. Sincere performances are hindered by cheesy visual effects and flimsy script. Facinelli also co-directed after original director Nick Lyon fell ill with COVID; despite his best efforts, this is unlikely to light much of a “fire” to his career.

Continue reading →

“Muzzle” (** out of four) was a muddled police procedural thriller about a street cop (Aaron Eckhart) and former veteran with PTSD whose canine police partner dies and he is paired with a new canine-partner but can’t let go of the other dog’s death and plunges into the seedy darkness of L.A. to find and apprehend those responsible. What starts out as an interesting and intriguing psychodrama loses its way, as film becomes meandering and pretentious and doesn’t lead to a satisfying conclusion. Eckhart is strong as always.

Continue reading →

“Saw X” (**1/2 out of four) was one of the better entries in this never-ending series about the dying John Cramer/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) who is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and travels to Mexico to meet with a doctor (Synnove Macody Lund) for a risky medical treatment but soon finds that this is a fraudulent program to scam the elderly and vulnerable and re-starts his torture chamber techniques to enact bloodthirsty revenge. More character development and subtlety than earlier entries and Bell is strong as always but film (as expected) eventually loses its way in bloody gore and ugliness in its final third although that’s probably what you’re paying for. Film actually takes place between the original “Saw” and “Saw II” for anyone keeping chronology.

Continue reading →

“The Haunting At St. Joseph’s” (*1/2 out of four) was an interchangeable horror thriller about a young doctor (Tal Hymans) and her privileged friends (Tim Spriggs, Elke Heinricsen, and others) who go on vacation at a religious burial site where centuries ago there was an ancient sacrifice that (what else?) has come back to haunt them. Drab and artificial movie full of the usual religious omens, loud shock effects, and pseudo-important psychobabble. Can anyone actually tell any of these movies apart???

Continue reading →

“Maid Droid” (* out of four) was a sleazy and stupid melodrama about a businessman (Jose Adam Alvarez) who is reeling from the death of his ex and hires a beautiful maid android (Faith West) to help fill his void of emptiness and loneliness but (naturally) her system starts to glitch which leads to her acting out with reckless violence and he has to decide whether to keep her as his companion or pull the plug. It’s much easier to simply pull the plug on the movie instead. Yet another movie about artificial intelligence which seems artificial and has no intelligence. Watch “Maid To Order” (if you haven’t already) instead.

Continue reading →

“Sniper: G.R.I.T. (Global Response And Intelligence Team)” (** out of four) was a needless continuation of this series about ace sharpshooter Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) who is called back into action with the newly formed G.R.I.T. team (Dennis Haysbert, Ryan Robbins, and others) to rescue a fellow agent (Luna Fujimoto) and eliminate an international terrorist organization from global domination. Tenth entry in a series that wasn’t that great to begin with back when it began in 1993; this is neither the best nor the worst of the series and has some good action but is still only for series fans.

Continue reading →

“Butcher’s Crossing” (** out of four) was an ambitious but unsatisfying adaptation of John Williams’ acclaimed novel where an Ivy-league dropout (Fred Hechinger) travels to the Colorado wilderness to join a group of buffalo hunters (Nicholas Cage, Xander Berkeley, and others) on a dangerous expedition that puts all their sanity to the ultimate test. Magnificent cinematography from David Gallego and some scattered effective moments are outweighed by film’s meandering pacing. It may take you a few minutes to recognize Cage with his shaved head but film is mostly for die-hard Cage fans and fans of Williams’ book.

Continue reading →

“Outlaw Johnny Black” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately engaging action comedy about the title character (Michael Jai White) who is hell-bent on avenging the death of his father from a vicious outlaw (Chris Browning) but ends up becoming a fugitive from the law in the process and winds up in a mining town and poses as a preacher while trying track down his father’s killer and also doing battle with a villainous land baron (Barry Bostwick). Overlong and overstuffed with plot and characters but Jai White’s charisma and likeability take centerstage here and he carries the movie almost singlehandedly and makes it entertaining. Jai White also directed and co-wrote in a packaging similar to “Django Unchained.”

Continue reading →