June 18, 2022 “The Black Phone” (*1/2 out of four) was a luridly unpleasant horror thriller about a young boy (Mason Thames) who is abducted by a child killer (Ethan Hawke) and locked in the killer’s basement where he suddenly realizes he can communicate with the killer’s former child victims on a black phone. Repulsive subject matter involving child abduction and murder and film doesn’t even offer any scares or sick thrills. Film was adapted from a book by Stephen King’s son but film feels like regurgitated Rob Zombie. Hang up on this wrong number. Continue reading →
June 18, 2022 “The Good Neighbor” (***1/2 out of four) was an absolutely riveting Hitchcockian suspense thriller about a journalist (Luke Kleintank) who meets a new neighbor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and go out for drinks and get into a hit-and-run accident in which a woman is killed; he is then assigned to cover this story and becomes deeply involved with her sister (Eloise Smyth) but this immediately plunges him into a whirpool of guilt, remorse, and deception and puts him at odds with his sociopathic neighbor who wants to kill and cover all tracks by any means necessary. Serpentine story unfolds with many haunting layers of character study and tragedy and holds you in its vicelike grip till its chilling ending. Exceptionally well-directed by Stephan Rick and given more charge by strong acting (especially Rhys-Meyers). Continue reading →
June 18, 2022 “Watcher” (** out of four) was a grim psychodrama about a young woman (Maika Monroe) who moves with her husband (Karl Glusman) to Bucharest but is soon alarmed by a stranger (Burn Gorman) across the street who is watching her and she begins to suspect he is a serial killer targeting beautiful women. Writer/director Chloe Okuno works in a melancholic style and craft that harks back to early-period Hitchcock but film never fully comes to life and thus does not connect. Neil Jordan’s “Greta” told a similar story with a lot more haunting pulse and charge. This won critical raves at the Sundance Film Festival so you may want to “watch” for yourselves. Continue reading →
June 18, 2022 “Crawlspace” (** out of four) was a pretty routine suspense thriller about a meek family man (Henry Thomas) who is hired by ruthless poachers (Bradley Stryker and C. Ernst Harth) but finds himself trapped in the crawlspace of their remote Oregon cabin where they have stashed their cabins and has to psychologically try to preserve his sanity while trying to stay alive. Proficiently made and acted but follows a much-too-familiar and predictable pattern. Thomas’ typical passivity and placidity worked so well in “E.T.” but not so much here. Continue reading →
June 18, 2022 “Turbo Cola” (*1/2 out of four) was an artificial coming-of-age melodrama about a young adolescent (Nicholas Stoesser) about to graduate high-school working a late-night shift at a gas station while all his hedonistic friends (Jordyn Denning, Landon Tavernier, Brooke Maroon, and others) are out at an all night party and he begins to reflect on the crossroads he is at in his life. Set for no particular reason in 1999 but this would have been a stale and trite story even then. Based on Samantha Oy’s praised play “New Years Eve At The Stop-N-Go” but this ought to be out of theatres and on Redbox at “turbo” speed soon. Continue reading →
June 13, 2022 “Remember Me” (*1/2 out of four) was a drab horror thriller about a young woman (Eleanor Burke) who awakens in a house with mobility and memory problems after a serious car accident. Her mother and boyfriend (Penelope Read and Joseph Eason) are there to help but she soon starts to realize that all is not what it seems and she tries to piece together what happened before the accident. Film only cost about $31,000 to make which accounts for its minimalist filmmaking and production values but not its molasses pacing and flat characters. Film somewhat resembles “Shattered” but that film looks like Hitchcock in his prime compared to this and there isn’t much to “remember” here. Continue reading →
June 13, 2022 “The Score” (** out of four) was an originally done but middling musical underworld melodrama (!) about two small-time crooks (Will Poulter and Johnny Flynn) who drive to a cafe for a big heist but start to have second thoughts and ruminations about the paths they are on in life (and break out into song and dance over this). Give writer/director Malaychi Smith credit for attempting to do something daring and different but results never rise above mediocrity. Musical numbers are mostly superfluous and don’t add much to film but then again without them- film would likely be a standard genre story. No relation to the (far superior) 2001 De Niro/Brando/Norton thriller of the same name. Continue reading →
June 13, 2022 “The Spy Who Never Dies” (*** out of four) was a stylishly done action comedy about a world-class international spy (Paul O’Brien) whose life becomes complicated when he falls in love with a woman (Georgia Walters) and has to balance work, love, and intrigue for the first time in his life. Writer/director Corey Pearson works in a style that harks back to Moore-era James Bond and throws in everything but the kitchen sink to keep you entertained with action and light-hearted humor. Starts to wear a little thin after a while but never stops moving and enthusiastic cast gives it a real boost. Continue reading →
June 11, 2022 “Double Threat” (** out of four) was a slick but empty action thriller about a woman (Danielle C. Ryan) who is being hunted by the mob who meets a young man (Matthew Lawrence) who is also being chased and they embark on an odyssey across country to try to stay alive. Reasonably fast-moving and with good production values but story covers all-too-familiar terrain and predictability. Both Ryan and Lawrence previously starred together in “Mistletoe Mixup”; let’s hope the third time for them will be the charm. Continue reading →
June 11, 2022 “V For Vengeance” (** out of four) was a lively but cheesy pulp action thriller about two estranged sisters (Jocelyn Hudon and Grace Van Dien) who must join forces to rescue their younger sister (Alix Villaret) when she is kidnapped by a group of bloodthirsty vampires who also killed their parents. Guilty-pleasure movie does move fast and is done with a moderate amount of style and conviction although it’s pretty thin stuff overall and you will likely forget it within minutes. Not to be confused with “V For Vendetta.” Continue reading →
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