February 3, 2021 “Central Park Dark” (*1/2 out of four) was a tawdry suspense thriller about a hard-drinking doctor (Tom Sizemore who is well-cast) who has an affair with a woman (Cybil Lake) which turns into a never-ending nightmare when she jumps out of his window and subsequently stalks his subconscious as he tries to sort out if she is still alive or not and how he can make her stop. Low-octane thriller is overly cerebral and lurid and winds up a waste of time. Co-star Lake also wrote and directed and bears most of the blame for this pretty unpleasant film. Continue reading →
February 2, 2021 “Twist” (*** out of four) was a lively comic spin on the classic “Oliver Twist” with froth and vigor in equal servings; an elderly man (Michael Caine) enlists several young swindlers (Rafferty Law, Lena Headey, and Noel Clarke) to enact revenge and duplicity against a former rival (David Walliams) who stole money from him years earlier but naturally plans go sideways. Bouncy story is fast-paced and features enough snappy dialogue and cockeyed humor to make it entertaining if not especially filling. Caine adds style and panache as usual with his effortless camera. Continue reading →
February 2, 2021 “Dead Again” (** out of four) was an unremarkable horror thriller set in England about two mismatched police officers (Mark Wingett and Steven M. Smith) who work in a peaceful and serene rural village where a virus erupts and turns most of its inhabitants into ravenous and flesh-eating zombies and it is up to them to save the village and thus save the world. Far from the worst of its type, with zippy pacing and enthusiastic acting, but interchangeable from too many other apocalyptic zombie thrillers (“World War Z”, “The Walking Dead”, “28 Days Later”, etc) and offers nothing you haven’t seen before. By this point, the zombie genre itself needs a fresh transfusion of blood and new ideas before it becomes extinct. Continue reading →
February 1, 2021 “Mummy Resurgance” (*1/2 out of four) was a colorless horror thriller about a group of curious archaeology students (Shawn C. Phillips, Megan Purvis, Amanda Jade-Tyler, and others) who awaken an ancient mummy who is bloodthirsty and they find themselves stuck in a sinister time warp in which the only way out is to defeat the mummy and stay alive. The mummy itself looks like someone with strings and mopheads hanging off and the humans aren’t that much better! Film is just a pileup of mummy cliches done with little flair or style. No relation whatsoever to the much better (and bigger-budgeted) “Mummy” series of 20 years ago nor the Tom Cruise remake; don’t expect this to strike up a “resurgance” in mummy movies anytime soon. Continue reading →
February 1, 2021 “Palmer” (*** out of four) was an endearing drama about a recently released ex-con (Justin Timberlake) who forms a relationship with a young boy (Ryder Allen) from an abusive and neglected home and tries to adopt him in spite of the resistance from the system due to his criminal past. Moving story takes a little time to get going but Timberlake’s believable performance and a terrific performance from young Allen make it rewarding. Final half-hour is particularly moving. Well-observed and captured by director Fisher Stevens. Continue reading →
February 1, 2021 “The Ritual” (* out of four) was a rockbottom bore about a struggling actor (James Edwards) who decides to sell his soul to the devil for fame and success but doesn’t realize what exactly he’s done till (naturally) it’s too late. Static story is basically a three-character monologue between the actor and the devil and angel (Anja Cilia and Filipe Donica) and is a real snooze. Might have worked as a play but as a feature-length film it’s off-putting and empty. Promoted as a horror movie which it is not. Continue reading →
January 30, 2021 “The Little Things” (** out of four) was a tepid thriller about a world-weary and grizzled detective (Denzel Washington) who is teamed with a younger officer (Remi Malek) to track down a serial killer (Jared Leto) who has managed to elude the other police and local authorities. Malek is so bug-eyed and acts so bizarre that he seems even loonier than Leto who is the actual killer! Film holds your attention with an atmosphere of tense malevolence but doesn’t build to a satisfying whole or conclusion. Writer/director John Lee Hancock wrote the script for this 30 years ago which figures since film substantially borrows from the far superior “Manhunter” and “Seven.” Continue reading →
January 30, 2021 “Unfollower” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable suspense thriller about a fitness instructor (Julie Crisante) who soon becomes the target of cyber-stalking that turns personal and physical when she starts to become terrorized by an unknown assailant and has to use her fitness skills and psychological wits to outwit him and stay alive. Intriguing at first but story soon becomes ungainly, uninvolving, and unpleasant. Crisante is underwhelming in the lead. Hardly a story worth “following.” Continue reading →
January 30, 2021 “Trafficked” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall gripping action melodrama about a couple (Mark Boyd and Kristy Swanson) whose daughter (Sophia Bolen) is abducted and sold into the world of sex-trafficking; in desperation they turn to a thuggish private investigator (Dean Cain) with a shady past who swears to get her back by any means necessary. Uneven movie is half-exploitation screw-tightening but also half engrossing as it shows you the harrowing world of sex trafficking and the lengths some parents and cops will go to get someone back. Similar to the 2017 film of the exact same name but both are worthy of some merits. Continue reading →
January 27, 2021 “Dead In The Water” (*1/2 out of four) was a waterlogged suspense thriller about a successful photography vlogger (Catherine Lidstone) who goes with her best friend (Angela Gulner) to a weekend getaway house where a mysterious man (Peter Porte) soon crosses their path and this stirs up emotions and suspicions between the two as they suspect that one of them may be a murderer. Thoroughly obvious and predictable story takes a turn for the worse at the end and becomes pretty laughable. Attractive scenery locations are a definite plus but otherwise film itself is pretty “dead in the water.” Continue reading →
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