February 26, 2021 “Tom And Jerry” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly entertaining adaptation of the classic cartoon series about their origins and how Tom and Jerry first meet through a kindly young hotel worker (Chloe Grace-Moretz) and try to help her through her various ups-and-downs at work with her various cohorts (Michael Pena, Collin Jost, and others). Lots of energy and some scattered laughs make this fitfully amusing but its thin story prevents it from gelling although it might make its mark with young kids and families. Nowhere near as uproarious as some of the classic T and J cartoons but a definite improvement over their last lackluster 1993 movie. Continue reading →
February 24, 2021 “Adverse” (** out of four) was fairly routine pulp about a recently released felon (Thomas Ian Nicholas) who works as a rideshare driver and soon finds that his sister (Kelly Arjen) is indebted to a dangerous crime syndicate (led by Mickey Rourke) and he returns to the vicious criminal underworld to free her and settle the score. Not the worst of its grungy ilk but film doesn’t have style or spark to distinguish itself from far too many other “Taxi Driver” ripoffs. Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Astin, and Penelope Ann Miller are all wasted in throwaway roles; Rourke mumbles and sleepwalks his way through his umpteenth role as a thug but by now even his most “adverse” fans may wish he just made “The Wrestler 2.” Continue reading →
February 24, 2021 “Alpine Lake” (* out of four) was an amateurish horror mess about five college friends (Melvin Jackson Jr, Christine Guerra, Ellyanna, and others) who head to a cabin (cue ominous music) for a weekend getaway when they are suddenly stalked and slashed by a deranged lunatic out on the prowl. Does anybody in movies like these ever go to a cabin the woods and just have a good time? Schlocky and silly time-waster goes nowhere slowly and drowns in its own tackiness. Trash like this was more fun in the ’80’s. Continue reading →
February 23, 2021 “Gatecrash” (*1/2 out of four) was an uninvolving psychological suspense thriller about a loving couple (Olivia Bonamy and Ben Cura) who are involved in a hit-and-run accident involving a stranger (Anton Lesser) who it turns out is still alive and re-appears in their lives and puts them in a personal and psychological tailspin. Writer Terry Hughes adapted his own play into this film version but what may have worked onstage becomes tedious at feature-length. Plays almost like an arthouse version of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” but there’s no fishing hook nor Jennifer Love Hewitt here. Continue reading →
February 23, 2021 “His Killer Fan” (*1/2 out of four) was a killer mistake about an obsessed fan (Brooke Butler) of a rock singer (Ryan Cooper) who finally gets the chance to play a duet with him but then goes berserk when he shows an interest in her best friend (Teressa Liane) and will stop at absolutely nothing to turn both their lives upside down and have him all for herself. Terminally predictable story lacks any suspense or conviction; cross-pollinate “A Star Is Born” with “Fatal Attraction” and you have an idea on the giant pile of cliches here. Doubtful to attract many “fans” of its own. Continue reading →
February 22, 2021 “Dead Air” (** out of four) was a rambling melodramatic thriller about a deceased father whose dedicated son (Kevin Hicks) discovers his dad’s buried radio and soon strikes up a relationship on-air with a female (Vickie Hicks) on a different radio frequency but he soon discovers that she is living in a different decade and there are twists and information that can soon affect the fate of them both. Interesting story is drably and awkwardly done although the two leads (who both co-wrote and co-directed) do their best. 2000’s “Frequency” told a similar story with much more mesmeric intensity and spark. Continue reading →
February 20, 2021 “Beauty Is Skin Deep” (*1/2 out of four) was a superficial suspense thriller about a series of murders in a small town which affects a cliquish group of high-schoolers (Taylor Cynthia Halsey, Mercedes Gutierrez, Tiffany Kerr, and others) while a hard-nosed detective (Cheyenne Buchanan) investigates. Obvious and predictable at every turn and never builds substantial fire or momentum. Made only for die-hard thriller fans who will watch anything on Netflix or Redbox. Continue reading →
February 20, 2021 “The Wrong Valentine” (*1/2 out of four) was a mindless suspense thriller about a high-school girl (Mariah Robinson) who meets a guy (Evan Adams) who sweeps her off her feet and seems like he is perfect; to the surprise of no one, though, he turns out to be a serious sicko who terrorizes her and her mother (Arie Thompson). Umpteenth entry in Vivica Fox’s “wrong” series is one of the weakest yet with jarring gaps in continuity and logic and a final plot twist that’s pretty hard to swallow. It’s movies like these that make you wish Fox would start making some “right” choices in her career again and pick some different material. Continue reading →
February 20, 2021 “Red Carpet” (* out of four) was an unbearable melodrama about an aspiring actress (Wittie Hughes) who arrives in L.A. but soon gets sucked into the underworld of drugs and sex trafficking and has to use all her acting skills to physically and psychologically survive. Highly exploitative and ugly film wallows in the lurid morbidity it seems to be decrying. Hughes is good under the circumstances but can’t do much to enrich this deeply unpleasant film. Writer/director Scott Altman is a relative of director Robert Altman but let’s just be kind and say this is no “Nashville.” Continue reading →
February 20, 2021 “Suburban Mayhem” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty dismal melodrama about a sultry young woman (Emily Barclay) who creates havoc for everyone in her life and the various men and neighbors (Steve Bastoni, Laurence Breuls, and others) who she has an affect on. Barclay is a real knockout and does what she can to keep this afloat but is there a point or a plot? Interesting beginning soon sputters to a halt and film soon subsides. Filmed in 2006 and could have stayed on the shelf. Continue reading →
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