April 27, 2021 “Escape To The Cove” (*1/2 out of four) was a banal horror thriller set in the not-too-distant future in which a pandemic has ravaged Earth and it has become overtaken by assorted criminals and zombies; one survivor (Garrett Barghash) meets another woman (Elisa Jannelle Alpizar) who vows to lead him to safety and serenity in a place called The Cove which has been untouched by this disturbia. Yet another movie set in the future that only rehashes ingredients from past movies. Film looks chintzy and lumbers and plods through all-too-familiar terrain. Eric Roberts has a minor throwaway role as a sleazy businessman; it’s about time he “escaped” from drivel like this and actually started rebuilding his career. Continue reading →
April 26, 2021 “86 Melrose Avenue” (** out of four) was a jaded action melodrama about an ex-marine (Dade Elza) with intense PTSD who storms into an art gallery and takes hostages (Gary Sturm, Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, and others) while the police (Jim O’Heir and Terry Ivens) try to defuse and de-escalate the situation and subsequently uncover his true motivation and whether any of the hostages were actually involved in this. Well0-intentioned attempt at mixing a mental health melodrama with a police procedural and pulp action thriller but limited in its emotional power and thus never shifts into high gear; final third may remind you a little of “Inside Man” but sadly there’s no Denzel Washington here. Continue reading →
April 25, 2021 “Saving My Daughter” (** out of four) was a suspenseless suspense thriller about a young girl (Emily Skinner) who once disappeared when she was a child and suddenly goes missing again while her parents (Alicia Leigh Willis and Robert Pralgo) try to keep themselves from unraveling while trying to sort out what really happened to her. Reasonably well-made and decently acted but lacking in any voltage of surprise or originality. Willis is strong as the girl’s strong-willed mother but is unable to “save” the proceedings. Continue reading →
April 25, 2021 “Chasing Whiskey” (*** out of four) was an endearing documentary about the whiskey Jack Daniels and its history from being cultivated and designed in Lynchburg, Tennessee to being a multi-billion dollar empire and a cultural icon among multiple rock stars and celebrities which no other whiskey has been able to touch. Interesting look at how unique and iconoclastic Jack Daniels was- and still is- and how it remains to this day a source of pride for Tennessee and a lot of people in the entertainment industry. Features interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with prominent Jack drinkers such as Eric Church, Lemmy Kilmeister, Slash, Jimmy Page, etc. which definitely makes this a shot worth taking. Continue reading →
April 24, 2021 “The Virtuoso” (** out of four) was a stodgy pulp thriller about a world-weary hitman (Anson Mount) who is hired by a ruthless multimillionaire (Anthony Hopkins) to kill an unknown target in a small town; problem is- he has no picture of whom he is supposed to kill so is unsure of who exactly to target and in the midst of this begins an affair with a waitress (Abbie Cornish) which results in complications. Rock-solid opening commands your attention but film soon sputters to a halt and grows slower and talkier as it goes along. Mount’s one-note (and at times laughable) performance is no help and Hopkins is wasted. Final plot twist is pretty unsurprising also. Cornish’s strong performance is an undeniable standout. Continue reading →
April 24, 2021 “Bloodthirsty” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty anemic horror thriller about a struggling indie singer (Lauren Beatty) who begins to have visions that she is a werewolf and is then called to work with a mysterious record producer (Greg Bryk) at his cabin in the woods where she finds out he is a howling werewolf as well and the two of them are destined to be together. Or something like that. Speaking of which- someone at the controls obviously watched “The Howling” a few times before the cameras rolled but this isn’t even up to that film’s campiness or humor. In dire need of a transfusion of spark or energy. Continue reading →
April 24, 2021 “The Boonies” (*1/2 out of four) was a third-rate rip-off of “Wrong Turn”, “Deliverance”, and too many others to mention about a group of campers (Brian Balog, Rick Dutrow, Lance Parkin) and others who find themselves besieged and stalked by a clan of cannibals in Appalachia and have to fight them to the death to survive. Thoroughly predictable and by-the-numbers timewaster; even the cast looks bored and none of the kills are staged with particular relish or style. Parkin also co-wrote and directed. Watch “The Goonies” again instead. Continue reading →
April 18, 2021 “Mortal Kombat” (** out of four) was a joyless remake of the Midway Games classik about a lone rogue MMA fighter (Lewis Tan) who seeks out the greatest fighters in the universe (Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, and others) in a battle against the enemies of Outworld for the violent fate of the universe. Initially, plodding and awkward as it takes a long time to get going but even when the inevitable slam-bag fight scenes start it’s overdirekted and khaotically shot and edited. Not bad but yet another video-game adaptation that feels like watching an empty video-game. Hard-core Kombat fans may still want to chekk this out but they’d still be better off re-watching the original series or listening to the original soundtrakk CD. Continue reading →
April 16, 2021 “No Way Out” (* out of four) was a suffocatingly routine horror thriller about a group of friends (Johanna Rae, Chris Levine, Christopher McGahan, and Jennifer Karraz) who go on a weekend trip to the woods where (to the surprise of only them) they find they are not alone and are (yawn) besieged by a redneck killer. Countless and umpteenth horror movie about teens in the woods done with no style or flair and no scares either. Would it kill horror filmmakers to come up with some new ideas once in a while? Even the title is unoriginal and byetheway this is no relation to the 1987 Gene Hackman/Kevin Costner classic Continue reading →
April 15, 2021 “Acts Of Revenge” (*1/2) was a numbingly ugly pulp melodrama about a grieving father (Matt Cinquanta) who is heartbroken and delirious after the loss of his family and then stumbles upon a sinister psychiatrist (Kurt Sinclair) and a corrupt ex-police detective (Richard Tyson) and is manipulated into revenge. Umpteenth story of revenge and retribution is violent and unpleasant and even the main protagonist isn’t very likeable. First-time writer/director Cagan Kayi funded this with money from his last semester in film school and one can only hope this is a sign of better things to come. Continue reading →
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