Category: Uncategorized

“Obsession” (** out of four) was an overly lurid horror psychodrama about a young man (Michael Johnston) who is granted a pervasive wish in life and is able to win the heart of a girl (Inde Navarrette) he has a crush on but what initially seems like a dream come true turns into a nightmare as he realizes his wish has turned her into an obsessive and menacing killer. Fitfully interesting in parts but soon wears out as film loses itself in cerebral unpleasantness and pretentious plot themes. Another film that (all-too-obviously) shows the influence of early Sam Raimi and also David Lynch. Film won an extensive $15 million bidding war from Focus Features but does not seem to have been worth “obsessing” over.

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“House Sitter” (*1/2 out of four) was an underwhelming horror psychodrama about three friends (Cristina Mendez, Jenna Forcier, Evan Eiglarsh) who are housesitting for a wealthy neighbor (David Varrieur) but soon find that there is (yawn) a brutal serial killer in the house and there is a much a darker conspiracy going on behind the scenes and they all have to band together to escape. Bungled attempts at B-movie humor and some terrible acting make this a chore to watch. No relation to the 1992 Steve Martin/Goldie Hawn comedy of the same name but owes more than a bit to “When A Stranger Calls” and “Desperate Hours.”

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“The Clean Up” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty grimy urban thriller about a successful drug queenpin (Stacey Nino) who tries to get out of the game and out of the streets and to retire into a successful business but finds that getting out is a nightmare of consequences especially when she falls in love with a new competitor (Devin Lewis). Routine and sleazy story is at least given a boost by Lewis’ strong and stylish supporting turn but is hindered by unpleasant story and mediocre production. Yet another movie obviously inspired by “Belly” and also in particular by Paul Schrader’s 1992 “Light Sleeper.”

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“The Vindicator” (*1/2 out of four) was a vindictively awful pulp horror melodrama dud about a live-streaming podcast on true crime whose host (Chris Maher) and show are invaded by a real-life serial killer (Sean Berube) who challenges and perpetuates the host and a few contestants to nightmarish tasks that lead them all to a deadly battle over who will survive. What initially seems like a lame attempt to parody the irony of reality television and horror turns into a slavish imitation of “Saw” and becomes a heavy-handed mess. Martin Scorcese’s “The King Of Comedy” went over similar elements far more darkly (and entertainingly) over 40 years ago!

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“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” (*** out of four) was a propulsive series entry about the fall of the Evil Empire and the fledgling New Republic who enlist the help of the legendary bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu (David Acord) but this leads to an all-out war that threatens the future of the galaxy as a whole. Fun for “Star Wars” fans with the usual expected array of spectacular visual effects and action scenes. Starts to wane a little in the final third but revs up again for an explosive finale. The voice of Hugo Durant is actually director Martin Scorcese and Sigourney Weaver is nicely cast in a key role as Colonel Ward.

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“Dutton Ranch” (**1/2 out of four) was a meandering but easy-to-take melodrama about a family (Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser) who struggle to maintain their massive ranch while raising their young son (Finn Little) and facing tough competition and economic and personal battles in their lives. Lack of plot and narrative thrust are balanced out and compensated by spectacular and beautiful cinematography on stunning locations in Dallas, Texas and agreeable performances. Film is a feature-film expansion of the current television series.

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“Wolfcop” (** out of four) was a not-bad horror psychodrama about an alcoholic cop (Leo Fafrd) who goes through a series of bizarre and violent transformations and realizes he is turning into a werewolf but this makes him even more a ferocious officer to be reckoned with in his backwoods country town. Undeniably silly movie shows strong influences of early Sam Raimi and The Coen Bros. but is better than you would expect with some good acting and hard-boiled dialogue. Made in 2014 and sat on the shelf unreleased for well over a decade.

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“Bad Apples” (*1/2 out of four) was an umpteenth retread of “The Bad Seed”, “The Good Son”, “Orphan”, and too many others to mention; a young disturbed sociopathic kid (Scarlett Brining) begins to show her psychotic true colors once her foster parents (Lisa Wilcox and Darren Lee Cupp) adopt another child (Celeste Blandon) which brings in all sorts of feelings of jealousy, contempt, resentment, and murder. Tired story is strewn together out of cliches and horror fragments from other and better movies. Horror fans will note the return of Wilcox from the “Nightmare On Elm Street” series but this is sadly unlikely to resuscitate her career.

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“Death Cycle” (** out of four) was an over-the-top slasher melodrama about a young woman (Kristen Kaster) reeling from the death of her sister who is visited by a man (Matthew Ninaber) looking to solve the ongoing grisly murders from a motorcycle maniac murderer but they soon realize he is coming after both of them and they need to unite together to survive. Not bad by the admittedly low standards of these things thanks to some stylish direction from director Gabriel Carrer but marred by in-your-face and gratuitous violence that leaves a bad taste.

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“Hellfire” (**1/2 out of four) was a modestly affecting crime melodrama about a drifter (Stephen Lang) who wanders into a nowheresville Midwestern town under the complete rule and authority of a ruthless mob boss (Harvey Keitel) and tries to help himself and the various other residents (Scottie Thompson, Michael Sirow, and others) escape. Leisurely story initially holds its grip thanks to Lang’s authority and quiet intensity but loses its way as it starts to simmer into a conventional action thriller and melodrama and starts to becomes a Coen Bros-like version of “Rambo.” Lang is rock-solid as usual; Keitel is wasted in his umpteenth role as a crime boss.

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