May 17, 2023 “Crossfire” (** out of four) was a limp action melodrama about a retired federal agent (Louis Mandylor) whose past catches up with him when a violent gang he put away kill his wife and then attempt to hunt down his daughter (Samm Wiechec) and they realize the only way to stay alive is to strike back and hunt them. Starts off promisingly but then fizzles out as story gets hokey and banal as it veers off into a father-daughter reconciliation story. One-time “Heat” co-star Kevin Gage shows up as a thug but this is sadly unlikely to give his career the rejuvenation and firepower it needs. Continue reading →
May 17, 2023 “Marry Fu— Kill” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty lame horror thriller that does nothing but kill your time about five friends (Jedidiah Goodacre, Maxine Denis, Robbie G.K., and others) who play the title game after their friends funeral and find themselves luridly unraveling. By the end of this clunker, you may wish they had played Sorry or Monopoly instead. With that title, you know not to expect a masterwork but film hardly provides any scares or cheap thrills. Continue reading →
May 17, 2023 “The Day After October” (** out of four) was a whimsical horror comedy about two doofus stoners (Danny Schluck and Brandon Delaney) who discover a corpse in their bathtub and have to unravel the circumstances behind it and what happened. Too silly and disposable to have much impact but film has a cheeky sense of humor and is directed with some amusing flair by Chad Ostrum. Not exactly memorable but far better than most of its kind. Continue reading →
May 17, 2023 “The Irish Mob” (**1/2 out of four) a relatively well-done underworld potboiler about a violent Irish crime boss (Rob McCarthy) whose turf is invaded and threatened by ruthless police detectives (Pauline O’Driscoll and Liam Griffin) who are determined to bring him down. Imagine “The Departed” remade by the Guy Ritchie of “Lock, Stock, And 2 Smoking Barrels” and you have a good idea of what to expect here. Film is as blunt as its title and stuffed with blood and blarney but having said that is fast-paced and somewhat fun, especially for fans of the genre. Continue reading →
May 15, 2023 “The Organ Trail” (** out of four) was a colorless Western melodrama set in 1870’s Montana in which a young woman (Zoe Da Grand Maison) fights for her retrieval of a precious family horse and has to encounter a group of bloodthirsty bandits (Mather Zickel, Lukas Jann, and others) in order for them both to stay alive. Title is an allusion to the blockbuster computer game “The Oregon Trail” but this inert film doesn’t have that game’s excitement. Good muzak score by Craig Brethren and solid production values still can’t make this a “trail” worth traveling down. Continue reading →
May 14, 2023 “Transmutators” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash action thriller set in another futuristic wasteland in which a rebel group of survivors (Kenneth Ang, Jairus Aquino, Cathy Bautista, and others) who have to embrace mega-fighting machines in order to combat intergalactic invaders threatening humanity and mankind as we know it. Cheesy “Transformers” wannabe with weak script and even weaker acting. Final third finally delivers some good action scenes and decent visual effects but it’s still pretty formulaic and forgettable. Continue reading →
May 14, 2023 “Dead Shot” (** out of four) was a detached action suspense thriller set in 1970’s London in which a retired Irish paramilitary (Colin Morgan) witnesses the murder of his wife by an SAS officer (Ami Ameen) and escapes and takes it to the streets on a one-man army of vengeance against him and the SAS as a whole who target him for extinction. Atmospherically lensed by Mattias Rudh on good locations in Edinburgh, Scotland but result is overall unsatisfying as film never really congeals and comes together as a whole. Based on Dr. Steven P. Moysey’s book “The Road To Balcombe Street” which was famous for its anti-sentiments involving the I.R.A. but the film version is mostly half-cocked. Continue reading →
May 13, 2023 “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” (*** out of four) was a tender documentary about the life and career of Michael J. Fox who had a meteoric rise to success- and excess- in the ’80’s but subsequently found that his greatest and most courageous battle lay ahead when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and he started a historic foundation for research that has raised billions. Well put together by director Davis Guggenheim and very well edited by Michael Harte but the most moving work is from Fox himself who is alternately humorous and heartbreaking in discussing the ongoing effects of his life-altering disease. Continue reading →
May 13, 2023 “74 Minutes” (*1/2 out of four) was a needless horror documentary about a noted paranormal investigator (Chad Calek) who reveals the intense scares and severity of his job for over 25 years. A vanity project for star/writer/director/producer/editor Calek but you’ll likely have your fill after about 20 minutes. Film’s title is somewhat curious because it’s 84 minutes, not 74. Continue reading →
May 13, 2023 “Colonials” (*1/2 out of four) was a junior-high version of “Star Wars”,”Blade Runner”, and just about every other future-action thriller you can think of about a space colonist (Greg Kriek) who crashlands on Earth to save the planet from an advanced Moon enforcer (Sean Kanan) who wants to wipe out the planet to extinction but doesn’t foresee the widespread resistance (Daniel Roebuck, Jamie Bernadette, and others) he will encounter. Much of the video-game like effects look like something from a 90’s CD-ROM and script and storytelling are threadbare. Sad to see talented one-time 80/s/90’s rising stars Kanan and Roebuck in this direct-to-DVD schlock. Continue reading →
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