November 13, 2021 “Hideout” (* out of four) was a reprehensible melodrama about a group of none-too-bright criminals (Bryan Enright, Katie Lyons, Eric Frances Melargni, and Chris Wolfe) who enter the house of a family (Janice LaFlam, Audrey Kovar, and others) who are not what they appear and they soon turn the tables on the home invaders turning the victimizers into (yawn) victims. Superficial amalgam of “Desperate Hours”, “The Purge”, “Reservoir Dogs”, and too many others to mention gives you no one to root for since the good guys are as dull and unlikeable as the villains. Hide away from this clunker instead. Continue reading →
November 9, 2021 “Last Night In Soho” (**1/2 out of four) was an arch-to-a-fault melodrama about an aspiring singer (Thomas McKenzie) who finds she is mysteriously able to enter the 1960’s through her own dreamscape; initially she’s overwhelmed by the glitz and glamour but soon begins to find out there is something darker and more disturbing going on and her sanity gradually begins to slip away. Visually dazzling at times and McKenzie is outstanding in the lead and there are some sequences that are hallucinatory…………but after a while, film becomes a bit numbing and lurid especially in its final third which is highly bizarre and over-the-top. A definite mixed bag and not for all tastes although an interesting attempt at Kubrickian horror by writer/director Edgar Wright. Continue reading →
November 8, 2021 “Anonymous Animals” (* out of four) was a rabid bore set in a remote countryside in which the balance between man and animal has changed and any encounter between the two can turn to hostility and bloodshed and several residents (Thierry Marcos, Pauline Guilpain, Aurelien Chilarski, and others) struggle to make sense of this new world order and survive. Many critics somehow loved this pretentious and molasses-moving mess but I’m surely not one of them; film takes forever to get going and to comprehend but even then it’s not worth the bother. Kevin Brunet and Emmanuel Dauchy’s crisp cinematography is pretty at times but otherwise proceed at your own peril. Continue reading →
November 8, 2021 “Rise Of The Footsoldier: Origins” (** out of four) was a lukewarm origin story set in the 1980’s British underworld showing how Tucker (Terry Stone), Rolfie (Roland Manookian), and Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass) united to form their own firm and become criminal kingpins. Lots of great pulsating ’80’s music can’t camouflage film’s thin storyline and overall weak script. Naturally, Vinnie Jones shows up also but can play this break-your-neck role in his sleep (will someone please get this guy a different role to play?) Final film in this series and based on a true story (like the original) and is mostly for dedicated series fans. Continue reading →
November 8, 2021 “One Shot” (** out of four) was a muffled action thriller about an elite team of Navy Seals (Scott Adkins, Ryan Phillippe, Ashley Greene, and others) who embark on a covert mission to transport a prisoner from a C.I.A. prison but find themselves under attack when insurgents try to break in and rescue the same prisoner. Film moves fast enough and features enough intrigue and action to make it watchable but is hindered by overall routine and basic storyline and execution. One more film that pales in the shadow of the “Bourne” series. Phillippe gives his scenes a definite charge and pulse. Continue reading →
November 8, 2021 “13 Minutes” (**1/2 out of four) was a reasonably well-done melodrama set in the Midwest and showing the intersection of four different families (Thora Birch, Amy Smart, Anne Heche, Peter Facinelli, Trace Adkins, and others) when a deadly tornado touches down and forces them all to re-examine their relationships and mistakes they made in their lives. Imagine “Twister” re-made as a Robert Altman/Jonathan Demme emotional drama and that’s more-or-less what this is; not a total success (it does lag at times) but an interesting attempt at doing something new and given a definite boost by its first-rate cast. Birch stands out in an excellent performance as a single mom. Continue reading →
November 6, 2021 “Apex” (* out of four) was an inept remake of 1994’s “Surviving The Game” about five wealthy hunters (led by Neal McDonough) who play a game of hunting someone in the wilderness but their latest victim is an ex-cop (Bruce Willis) who proves to be a difficult hunt and turns the tables on them turning the hunters into the hunted. Original film was far from a classic but at least it had beautiful cinematography and some good dialogue and action scenes; this film is an incoherent bore. Willis sleepwalks his way through his umpteenth paycheck action role and McDonough is alternately hammy and overacting. Film is hardly the “apex” of either of their careers. Continue reading →
November 5, 2021 “Slumber Party Massacre” (*1/2 out of four) was a completely pointless remake of the 1982 cult hit about a group of sorority girls (Hannah Gonera, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Mila Rayne, and others) who are chased to the death by a driller killer whose weapon of choice is a large electric drill (which somehow looked a lot scarier in the original). With the exception of some feminist themes and wordplay, this is a paint-by-numbers thriller without any sparks or scares. At least the original and its sequels had some unintentional yuks and screams. Continue reading →
November 4, 2021 “Deadly Due Date” (*1/2 out of four) was a deadly predictable suspense thriller about a young couple (Ashlynn Yennie and Phillip Boyd) who run into a pregnant classmate (Ella Yannon) at their high-school reunion and agree to adopt her child but don’t realize she has sinister and subversive plans for them all. One more suspense thriller without much suspense and without much thrills since the story is so by-the-numbers and rudimentary. Glossy cinematography by Robert Vardaros is one of film’s few assets. Continue reading →
November 4, 2021 “Planet Dune” (** out of four) was a pretty disposable action melodrama about a crew (Sean Young, Sharon Desiree, Sienna Farrall, and others) on a mission to rescue a marooned base on a desert planet who find themselves hunted and attacked by gigantic worms who live under the planet’s surface. Yet another cheap knockoff of a high-profile/big-budget blockbuster (in this case “Dune” if you couldn’t guess from its title) although the movie it rips off mostly is “Tremors”. Having said that, it’s fairly fast-moving and does have a few good action scenes. Not bad but not exactly worth running to the Redbox machine for either. Continue reading →
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