Author: dlepikcom

“The Nun II” (** out of four) was an occasionally jolting sequel to the 2018 horror smash set in 1956 France in which a priest is murdered and a vindictive evil is spreading but sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is determined to seek out its source and stay on in her convent until she comes face-to-face with the demon nun Valak. More mumbo-jumbo/demonic possession/pseudo-religious horror but is at least infused with a creepy atmosphere and does have a few minor scares. Incredibly, this film marks the 9th entry in the endless “Conjuring” franchise so it’s mostly for series fans and completists. If there are any more, it might be time to go back to confession again.

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“Trinket Box” (*1/2 out of four) was a bloated horror thriller about a newlywed couple (Augie Duke and Acorye White) who move into a new house which is possessed with (yawn) a historical evil which later leads to all Hell breaking loose and their relationship and their sanity being torn apart. Uninspired re-telling of horror elements that “The Amityville Horror” did and did better over 40 years ago except that wasn’t as long and slow as this is. White also co-wrote and co-directed but unfortunately there’s not much surprises in this empty “box.”

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“Don’t Look Away” (** out of four) was a mostly perfunctory horror thriller about a young woman (Kelly Bastard) who has a strange occurrence with a mannequin that subsequently haunts- and overtakes- the rest of her life and starts to destroy her sense of reality and everyone around her. Co-writer/director Michael Bafaro gives this a creepy sense of dread and shows some style and creepiness but most of film is overall pretty tame and tired. Refreshingly short at only 81 minutes but film still feels puffy and padded at times.

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“Office Race” (** out of four) was a good-natured but clumsy and dumb comedy about an office drone (Beck Bennett) who hates his job but becomes involved in the world of marathon-running to beat his hated boss (Joel McHale) at his own game and overall stay alive and stay healthy. Title is an obvious pun on Mike Judge’s classic “Office Space” and film makes repeated references to “The Fast And The Furious” series but won’t be held in comparison to either and soon runs out of gas. Likeable cast does its best with thin screenplay and story.

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“Escalation” (**1/2 out of four) was a relatively gripping action potboiler about a former cop (Chris Mark who looks like a young Jet Li) who goes on a one-man vigilante vendetta to track down his brother’s murderer, leaving the city in chaos and his former officers to try and track him down and also help him. Stylishly done action thriller has enough hard-boiled dialogue and hand-to-hand combat to make it worth watching even though it starts to wear out after a while; Mark’s solid charisma helps to keep it together. Similar in story and context to “Max Payne” but far better than that mess.

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“All Fun And Games” (** out of four) was a meager horror thriller about a group of teens in Salem (Asa Butterfield, Laurel Marsden, Natalia Dyer) who discover a cursed knife that unleashes a demon that makes them rehash gruesome childhood games in which only one person can survive. Fairly fast-moving and does feature a few jumps and stylish touches but doesn’t add anything fresh or new to this genre. Not bad by the terrible standards of these types of movies but not as much “fun” as others of its kind.

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“Old Flame” (* out of four) was a suffocating melodrama about two college friends (Rebecca Robles and Andy Gershenzon) who reunite over dinner but discover a dangerous and dark secret that they ruminate over and over and over again all night. Two-character story with two unlikeable characters who spout smarmy and stupid dialogue that rings completely false. Only the end carries any charge of surprise but good luck getting there; this monotonous mess grows “old” very soon.

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“Trauma Therapy: Psychosis” (0 stars out of four) was a worthless horror psychodrama about a self-help guru (Tom Malloy) who is exiled to the U.K. but finds 2 dedicated followers (David John Lawrence and Hannah New) and begins running more retreats again which leads to mayhem and chaos all around. Of note solely for being one of the last films of the late Tom Sizemore but he only “appears” here from clips from various interviews which led to director Gary Barth disowning the film. The rest is unwatchable schlock. Film is a follow-up to the 2019 film “Trauma Therapy” but trust me- you may need “therapy” of your own by the time you make it to the end of this mess.

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“The Equalizer 3” (** out of four) was a tired third entry in this popular series about Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) who has made a home for himself in Southern Italy but soon finds himself in a warring faction with the local mafia (Eugenio Mastrandrea, Andrea Scarduzio, and others) which leads to an all-out bloodbath. A definite improvement over the previous two entries but film is still overly lethargic and overlong. Film marks a reunion between Washington and Dakota Fanning nearly 20 years after “Man On Fire.” Question: is it just me or why does Denzel always look puffy and bored when playing this role?

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“King Of Killers” (** out of four) was a haphazard action melodrama about a hitman (Alain Moussi) who is part of an international organization of killers (Stephen Dorff, Kevin Grevioux, and others) who are hired to take out the most dangerous criminal in the world (Frank Grillo), only to find out he has turned the tables on them and the hunters are becoming the hunted. Stylish, violent, and absolutely empty although Dorff and Grillo add some spice as usual in minor roles. Similar story told years earlier in “Killer Elite”. Grevioux also wrote and directed.

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