March 23, 2023 “House Of Deadly Lies” (*1/2 out of four) was a paper-thin, predictable thriller about a stay-at-home mom (Katy Breier) who takes in her struggling best friend (Chris Adams) who turns out to be a nutjob sociopath who tries to invade every aspect of her life and turn her life upside down. Laughably obvious at every turn and grows increasingly illogical especially towards the end. Yet another Lifetime thriller that seems prefabricated and churned out of a rusty machine. Continue reading →
March 22, 2023 “Boston Strangler” (*** out of four) was a crackling suspense melodrama based on the true story of two female reporters (Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon) who investigated the brutal killings of the title murderer in 1960’s Boston and risked their careers and lives in showcasing the botched police work involved and took it upon themselves to track him down and end his reign of terror. Exceedingly well-crafted script in the vein of investigative news classics “All The President’s Men” and “Spotlight” and enhanced by stellar work by its two leads but stops just short of hitting the bullseye mark. Chris Cooper, Robert John Burke, and Alessandro Nivola round out the gripping supporting cast; one of film’s producers was Ridley Scott. Continue reading →
March 19, 2023 “Leave” (** out of four) was a muddled horror melodrama about a young woman (Alicia von Rittberg) who was abandoned as a child and tries to find her origins and her family but finds that this may lead to a far more darker origination than she could have imagined and this in turn leads to an alteration and perception of her current reality. Well-directed by Alex Herron and atmospherically lensed by Sjur Aarthun but this cannot camouflage story and script’s emptiness at its core and its obvious derivations from other films (especially “The Shining.”). Von Riitberg is rock-solid in the lead but you’d best “leave” this after about a half-hour. Continue reading →
March 19, 2023 “Supercell” (*1/2 out of four) was a super-derivative action thriller about a young man (Daniel Diemer) who runs away to seek out his father (Skeet Ulrich) and becomes enveloped with him and another storm chaser (Alec Baldwin) as a deadly tornado is in their path and threatens to tear a hole right through the heartland. Diemer is blank in the lead and Ulrich and Baldwin aren’t much better; film takes forever to finally get going and when it does the finale literally looks like outtakes from “Twister” and also “Hard Rain.” Anne Heche has a minor throwaway role in one of her final film appearances. Continue reading →
March 18, 2023 “Shazam: Fury Of The Gods” (*** out of four) was a superior sequel to the 2009 DC comic adaptation about the continued adventures of teenage Billy Batson (Zachary Levi) who is turned into his adult alter-ego of Shazam and battles it out with the Daughters Of Atlas (Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler) with the fate of the world as we know it at stake. 12th installment in the DC film universe is fun for fans as it maintains a zippy pace and features some showstopping visual effects and action scenes. Gal Gadot has a welcome cameo at the end as Wonder Woman and director David F. Sandberg has a small cameo in the middle. Continue reading →
March 17, 2023 “Blue Jean” (** out of four) was a diffuse melodrama set in 1988 in England in which the government under Margaret Thatcher passed a law stigmatizing those in the lesbian and gay community; one such teacher (Rosy McEwen) attempts to hide the fact that she is gay and is forced to live a double life until one of her student finds out and threatens to expose her. Provocative and audacious subject matter holds your attention initially but is too wan and remote to achieve the impact it needs. McEwen’s strong performance is a definite plus but that doesn’t mean you care about her character all that much. Continue reading →
March 17, 2023 “The Nomad” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly engrossing melodrama about a hard-nosed reporter (Lauren Biazzo) covering a story about a serial killer (Dietrich Teschner) targeting priests; when she uncovers who the killer is and comes face-to-face with him, she has to face the dilemma of turning him into the police or having him kill her abusive father who has dominated and destroyed her whole life. Intriguing and moralistic storyline is tautly directed and well-acted but just misses. Film’s ending is pat and unsatisfying as film eventually loses its strong grip. Continue reading →
March 17, 2023 “Southern Gospel” (**1/2 out of four) was a flavorful but flawed melodrama about a rock star (Max Ehrich) whose life falls apart at the seams from drugs and has to start his life over and he retraces his steps and goes back to his initial childhood dream of becoming a preacher and he then sets out to preach the gospel of life and rock ‘n’ roll. Nicely made and directed with a lot of warmth and sincerity and religious fervor but central story isn’t all that compelling or powerful and film doesn’t fully connect. Directorial debut of Jeffrey A. Smith who was a songwriter himself for many years. Continue reading →
March 17, 2023 “Out Of Exile” (*1/2 of four) was a grindingly unpleasant pulp melodrama about a recently paroled thief (Adam Hampton) who falls right back into the criminal underworld upon his release and has to keep parole, the cops, and the Feds off balance as he tries one last score. Film attempts to be stark and gritty but you’ll be numbed by the sleaze and rampant ugliness after a while. One-time great character actor Peter Greene and Jake “The Snake” Roberts pop up in small roles but this is unlikely to save either one of their careers from “exile.” Continue reading →
March 16, 2023 “Righteous Thieves” (** out of four) was a thinly conceived action comedy about the head (Lisa Vidal) of a secret underground organization who assembles a crew (Cam Giganget, Jaina Lee Ortiz, and others) to steal back artwork that was stolen by the Nazis during WWII but they soon start to have a growing distrust of one another and uncover duplicity and deception as the mission continues. Director Anthony Nardolillo and his enthusiastic cast try to infuse as much fizz and bounce as they can but it’s like squeezing blood from a stone after a while since the story and script are so nondescript. Film was originally titled “Shelter” but owes more than a bit to the same story of 2014’s “The Monuments Men”. Continue reading →
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