July 18, 2023 “Disquiet” (** out of four) was a cold-hearted suspense thriller about a man (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) who has a near-fatal car accident and awakens in an abandoned hospital and discovers that there are sinister and otherworldly forces that will not allow him to leave and he starts to spiral off into the realms of insanity. Writer/director Michael Winnick works with a pretzel time structure that harks back to “Memento” and throws in elements of surreal horror from “The Shining” but it doesn’t have much resonance or emotional impact. Rhys-Meyers is game as always. Can’t someone resuscitate his career by now? Continue reading →
July 17, 2023 “Picture Me Dead” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame suspense potboiler about a determined prosecuting attorney (Erica Mena) whose faith and belief in the justice system are soured and put to the test when her niece (Amarachie Ekekwe) is raped and murdered by a vindictive killer (Charles Malik Whitfield) and he is allowed to walk free and she realizes she will have to take the law into her own hands to enact true justice and vengeance. Potentially intriguing and juicy material is bungled by severe logical gaps and ridiculous script and some laughable acting. Film itself begins to feel like capital punishment after a while. Continue reading →
July 16, 2023 “As Certain As Death” (* out of four) was a dreadful horror melodrama about a group of friends (Lindsey Shaw, Daniel Curtis Lee, David Lambert, and Cortney Palm) who attempt to stage an intervention on a friend (Hutch Dano) with a severe alcohol problem by taking him out into the wilderness where they are (yawn) besieged by an unseen killer (Guy Wilson). Give film some points for attempting to incorporate elements of addiction into its standard-story framework but the result is clumsy and amateurish and a bore. Co-star/writer/director Dano is also a painter and shows off some of his work in a few scenes but (judging from this effort) he seems a lot more “certain” about painting than about filmmaking. Continue reading →
July 16, 2023 “Bird Box: Barcelona” (*** out of four) was a creepy sequel to the 2018 Netflix hit set in Barcelona in which a virus has decimated the world and one survivor (Mario Casas) and his daughter (Alejandra Howard) have to fight against other survivors and various deadly outbreaks to stay alive. Yet another post-apocalyptic/catastrophe survival story in the mold of “28 Days Later” but it’s overall well-done and well-directed and staged by David and Alex Pastor and moves swiftly. Like the original, this one has continuous flashbacks and cutting back-and-forth in time but unlike the original it’s pretty easy to get used to here. Continue reading →
July 15, 2023 “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning- Part One” (** out of four) was a feeble sequel about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Haley Atwell) who have to track down a dangerous weapon after it has fallen into the hands of a worldwide terrorist (Esai Morales) and could result in global warfare. Kudos for bringing back Henry Czerny from the original and other various “Mission Impossible” actors from previous entries but this seventh entry is one of the weakest with a stilted script and severe overlength at nearly three hours. Even the climax aboard a train only serves to hark back memories of the classic original. Only some spectacular stunts (some performed by Cruise himself) keep it alive. Continue reading →
July 15, 2023 “Meet The Killer Parents” (*1/2 out of four) was a killer mistake about a woman (Bryn McAuley) who meets the parents (Dmitry Chevotesky and Ericka Leobrera) of her boyfriend (Connor McMahon) and realizes something is very dark and disturbing about this dangerous family. Unfortunately, that will be readily evident to anyone who’s seen a thriller before so there’s not much suspense or surprise to anyone watching the story for an hour-and-a-half. Prefabricated and predictable all the way through. Continue reading →
July 15, 2023 “Quicksand” (**1/2 out of four) was an efficiently done horror story about a married couple (Carolina Geitan and Allan Hawco) on the brink of divorce who decide to take a reconciliation trip to Colombia where they become immersed in quicksand and have to fight off the surrounding wildlife and put aside their recent differences to stay together and stay alive. A little of this goes a long way, as film doesn’t have enough story and characterization to sustain itself for feature-length, but film is overall well-acted and well-captured and does feature a few hair-raising moments along the way. Continue reading →
July 15, 2023 “Ghost Town” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster Western drama about a drifter (Owen Conway) who takes a job as a bartender in the wild wild West but a series of unexplained murders take place and he soon finds himself at the center of suspicion and has to fire back with everything he has and try to escape town. Maybe it’s time for Westerns to retire for a while because by now the saloon fights, whiskey drinking, and gun standoffs seem awfully by-the-numbers and tired. Give writer/director/star Conway points for his efforts but this unfortunately carries the “ghost” of far better past Westerns from Peckinpah and Eastwood and Leone. Continue reading →
July 14, 2023 “You’re Not Alone” (** out of four) was a tepid suspense potboiler about a security specialist (Michael Jai White) who is aboard a plane coming home when he sees his daughter (Precious Way) is being stalked via the home security system and he’s helpless to do anything at 40,000 feet in the air but tries desperately to contact her and control the situation. Nerve-wracking scenario has elements of “When A Stranger Calls” and also “Red Eye” but never achieves the real suspense and tension that would make it satisfying. Jai White is rock-solid as usual and carries film almost singlehandedly. Continue reading →
July 14, 2023 “Cabin Girl” (** out of four) was a middling suspense thriller about a young woman (Rosa Lane Sanfilippo) who is an online social media influencer and moves into an isolated cabin but soon starts experiencing a series of strange supernatural occurrences that alter her safety and sanity as she develops escalating paranoia that some of the various townspeople (Michael Rispoli and Lee Tergesen) are out to get her. Better-than-average movie does feature some minor scares and is kept afloat by Sanfilippo’s strong performance but never rises much above mediocrity. Feature directorial debut for producer/short film maker Jon D. Wagner. Continue reading →
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