December 20, 2020 “Hunter Hunter” (** out of four) was a lumbering melodrama about a family (Devon Sawa, Camille Sullivan, Summer H. Howell) living in the remote wilderness whose tranquility is threatened by the return of a rogue wolf; when the husband attempts to track it down, he soon disappears leaving the mother and daughter to fend for themselves for the first time and try and stay alive. Pretentious and plodding and never really builds to all that much even though it gets pretty bloody by the end; crisp cinematography from Greg Nicod is film’s main plus point. Nick Stahl has a key supporting role in film’s second half but by this point in his career he ought to be “hunting” for better parts than this. Continue reading →
December 20, 2020 “The Reason” (** out of four) was a superficial religious drama about the arrival of a mysterious man (Alan Powell) in a small town who is able to incur miracles in the townsfolk: a struggling mother (Beverly Todd) who desperately needs help, a blind pastor (Louis Gossett, Jr) whose son hasn’t spoken in years, a young oncologist (Tatyana Ali) who needs guidance, etc. Earnest and well-intentioned story benefits from a solid cast and decent production but sadly these don’t give you sufficient enough “reasons” to check this out. Not bad but not especially memorable either. Continue reading →
December 20, 2020 “Modern Persuasion” (** out of four) was an artificial romantic comedy about a NYC career woman (Alicia Witt) who has to deal with the aftermath of a former relationship when her ex-boyfriend (Shane McRae) hires the company and this begins to rekindle old feelings and old flames that affect her company and her romantic path in life. Guess what happens next. Film is brightly acted and attractively shot but is completely bereft of the magic and bounce that would make this take off. Viewers should resist “persuasion” to watch this and watch “Pretty Woman” and “Sleepless In Seattle” instead for the right way to do this kind of romp. Continue reading →
December 19, 2020 “Bad Impulse” (** out of four) was a scattershot psychological horror thriller about a husband and wife (Grant Bowler and Sonya Walger) who are viciously attacked in their suburban home and subsequently buy a home security system from a sinister salesman (Paul Sorvino) but this soon leads to him going off-the-wall and losing his mind. Too underwritten and undernourished to have any real bite although Sorvino as always adds some style and the strong cast helps to keep it watchable. One more imitation of “The Shining” that is a shining example of why that film was a classic in the first place. Continue reading →
December 19, 2020 “Breach” (** out of four) was a wholly derivative action sci/fi thriller about a mechanic (Cody Kearsley) aboard an interstellar spaceship bound for New Earth who has to try and defeat a ruthless megalomaniac (Bruce Willis) who wants to take over the ship and use it as a destructive weapon and crashland it on Earth. Perfunctory movie rips off “Alien” and “Star Trek” in equal measure; not bad for what it is but never escapes (or transcends) its routine origins. Willis walks through his umpteenth DVD paycheck role; Thomas Jane is wasted in a throwaway supporting part. Continue reading →
December 19, 2020 “Beyond The Woods” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp small-town psychological thriller about a determined detective (Broadus Mattison) who investigates the death of a woman (Christie Burke) and the disappearance of her brother (Jeff Evans-Todd) and finds a suspect (Steven Roberts) who proves to be an elusive enigma that he has to both psychologically and physically trap. Striking and crisp cinematography by Zach Zhao is sole worthy component as film is buried in a blur of grim grandiloquence. Roberts also co-wrote the uneven screenplay. Continue reading →
December 18, 2020 “The Rodeo Thief” (**1/2 out of four) was a leisurely melodrama about an injured bull-rider (Thom Callum) who sadly realizes that his best days are behind him and starts to fall on hard times and decides to steal roping horses for a brutal loan shark (Robert Keith) but this leads to various complications for him involving the criminal underworld and potentially jeopardizes his career and his life. Nicely understated attempt to mix a neo-Western story with a violent melodrama; it moves slowly at times and doesn’t quite hit the bullseye but is held together (and made worthwhile) by Callum’s rock-solid performance, some beautiful scenery vistas from Anthony Gutierrez, and Ian McHugh’s stirring music score. Continue reading →
December 17, 2020 “Silent Night” (** out of four) was grim gangster melodrama about a recently released British hitman (Bradley Taylor) trying to go straight for the sake of his daughter but gets sucked back into the vicious criminal underworld by his former cell-mate (Cary Crankson) who talks him into doing one final job which naturally backfires in multiple ways putting him at a crossroads about what to do next. Holds your attention for a while with its rapid-fire hard-boiled dialogue and stylish filmmaking but never rises above the routine mire. Plays like a Guy Ritchie melodrama (“Lock, Stock, And 2 Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch” in particular) without its pizazz and humor. Continue reading →
December 17, 2020 “The Curse Of Hobbes House” (*1/2 out of four) was a desultory thriller set in England in which a down-on-her-luck woman (Mhairi Calvey) finds out about her aunt’s death (Emma Spurgin Hussey) and is expecting a lucrative inheritance but instead soon finds herself battling zombies who threaten her life and want world domination. Relatively well-directed but with absolutely no distinction to make it stand out from countless other movies about zombies and the walking dead. Even the gloomy and dour cinematography starts to grow monotonous after a while. Continue reading →
December 16, 2020 “Paintball Massacre” (*1/2 out of four) was a stultifying pile of horror cliches set in the English countryside in which a group of friends (Katy Brand, Lee Latchford-Evans, Robert Portal, and others) have a reunion on a paintball trip in the middle of nowhere when they are stalked and slashed one-by-one by a deadly masked killer and they realize they have to turn into survivalist mode to stay alive. Umpteenth story of a killer in the middle of the wilderness is routine and blah; film just stops, rather than ends, for anyone who even makes it that far. For the right way to make almost the same story, watch 2003’s “Wrong Turn” instead. Continue reading →
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