Author: dlepikcom

“Control” (** out of four) was a stylish but sterile psychodrama about a secretary (Lauren Metcalfe) for the British Prime Minister who is on her way home one night when she finds that her car has been overtaken and thus hijacked by a villain (voice of Kevin Spacey) who communicates with her through the monitoring system while rampaging her car through the city of London. Well-directed film grows unavoidably monotonous after a while. Metcalfe is strong in the lead and Spacey’s voice is perfect as the cackling villain but film can’t transcend derivations from “Locke” and also “Phone Booth.”

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“Ferrari” (** out of four) was an arthritic autobiography set in the summer of 1957 about the legendary Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) with his empire and relationship to his wife (Penelope Cruz) crumbling and who decides to regain his determination and verve by competing in the Mille Miglia which was one of the most deadly and dangerous races of its kind all across Italy. Film has a stalled engine, as it covers territory seen before (and better) in “Lamborghini”, “Ford Vs. Ferrari”, and “Rush.” Disappointing excursion from director Michael Mann who usually has more sizzle and style. There’s a faint pulse whenever Cruz is on screen who is first-rate.

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“Spaghetti” (*1/2 out of four) was an undercooked horror platter about a nurse (Brittany Lucio) who believes she has met the perfect man (Newton Mayenge) but when she suspects him of cheating on her, she casts a voodoo spell on him that ends up cursing the both of them. Unappetizing and uninvolving pretty much all the way through. Somehow, this was nominated at Cannes, the Venice Film Festival, and Indiefare International but they all must have had something else on their minds.

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“FinestKind” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless crime melodrama about a group of blue-collar Boston fishermen (Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Ismael Cruz Cordova) who hit hard times and start drug smuggling for a local kingpin (Aaron Stanford) but find themselves all hitting rough waters. A real disappointment from writer/director Brian Helgeland who in better days wrote “L.A. Confidential” and “Mystic River” which were far superior; this time his story is muddled and aloof. Foster can play this slimeball role in his sleep by now and Tommy Lee Jones is sorely wasted as his ailing father.

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“The Family Plan” (**1/2 out of four) was a lively if lightheaded action comedy about a former international assassin (Mark Wahlberg) whose past catches up to him and he has to confess and take his unsuspecting wife (Michelle Monaghan) and children (Zoe Margaret Colletti and Van Crosby) on the run from a ruthless terrorist organization. Briskly paced fluff is entertaining while it lasts but many (including this FB reviewer) may find it a little overly similar to “True Lies” and (to some extent) “Mr. And Mrs. Smith.” Likeable cast led by the always dependable Wahlberg makes it fun and worthwhile.

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“The Five” (* out of four) was an ersatz Western that fires zeroes about five bank robbers (John Marrs, Tom Dragt, Todd South, and others) who hide out in a house waiting for a female contact (Cat Roberts) to show up but the longer they wait, the more suspicion grows and the more they begin to turn on one another. Clunky attempt at incorporating elements of “Reservoir Dogs” and even “The Hateful Eight” is an almost total misfire. Completely undone by cheap filmmaking and some terrible acting and writing. Perhaps it’s about time that veteran Western director/filmmaker Travis Mills started heading East.

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“City Rush 3” (0 out of four) was an ironically titled rush-job that runs only a little over 50 minutes long about special agent Ace (George Tounas) who is called out of retirement and teams up with a femme fatale (Petra Stevic) to take down the deadly clown (Jannis Sky) and his gang when they eventually attempt to overtake the city. Director/co-writer/star/co-producer Tounas bears almost all of the blame for this incoherent botch job; to put it mildly, the third time is not the charm. Top-billed Eric Roberts is only in the movie for 41 seconds! Viewers will be in no “rush” for a fourth entry in this unwatchable series.

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“A Dream House” (*1/2 out of four) was an obvious, stale suspense melodrama about a young couple (Taryn Hacker an Jon Hacker) win the house of their dreams in a housing auction but soon move in and notice that strange occurrences are happening and they are soon losing their minds. Synthetic cocktail of “The Amityville Horror” and “The Shinining” but this drink was starting to lose its buzz 30-40 years ago. Real-life couple Taryn and Jon Hacker are married in real life which makes their lack of chemistry here hard to understand.

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“Divinity” (* out of four) was an in-your-face and ugly futuristic potboiler about a television mogul (Stephen Dorff) who pushes a medication that can grant you immortality and was designed by his father (Scott Bakula) but 2 hapless brothers (Moises Arias and Jason Genao) attempt to thwart and abduct him while a seductive young woman (Bella Thorne) attempts to seduce all of them into her own form of self-discovery. Striking black and white cinematography is a plus; the rest is turgid and unwatchable pulp nonsense. If more movies are made like these, no one is going to want to stick around for immortality period. One of the executive producers was Steven Soderbergh.

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“Wrath Of Dracula” (* out of four) was a torpid timewaster about damsel-in-distress Mina Harker (Hannaj Bang Bendz) who embarks on a mission with vampire-slayer Van Helsing (Mark Topping) to rescue her husband (Dean Marshall) from the evil clutches of Count Dracula (Sean Cronin). It’s all so stupefyingly dull, even for hard-core horror fans. Even by the low standards of direct-to-DVD vampire dreck, this will still suck the life out of you (pun intended). Does anyone remember when these kinds of movies were actually entertaining and fun?

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