September 8, 2020 “Blood Quantum” (** out of four) was a mindless horror thriller about the dead who are somehow returning to life outside an isolated small-town named Red Crow but the local inhabitants (Michael Greyeyes, Forrest Goodluck, Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, and others) are strangely immune to this zombie plague and have to band together to fight back and stay alive. Tired zombie story in the vein of “The Walking Dead”/”Night Of The Living Dead”/”28 Days Later” although better made than most. Has its moments and jump-starts now and then but not enough. By now, the zombie genre needs a fresh transfusion of “blood” to enliven itself back from the dead. Continue reading →
September 8, 2020 “Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge” (**1/2 out of four) was a moderately watchable animated story in the “Mortal Kombat” cannon about the warrior Hanzo Hasashi (voiced by Patrick Seitz) who loses his family and loved ones in a vicious attack by a rival ninja clan and the only way to save them is by competing (and winning) an interdimensional martial-arts tournament to the death. Far from groundbreaking or memorable but features enough colorful animation and hand-to-hand combat and violence to make it an entertaining time-filler, especially for “Kombat” fans. Original “Kombat” creator Ed Boon was a creative consultant on this one. Continue reading →
September 8, 2020 “Come To Daddy” (0 stars out of four) was rockbottom dreck about a meek young adult (Elijah Wood) who travels to a remote cabin to reconnect with his long-estranged father (Stephen McHattie) but things begin to fall apart when he finds out his father didn’t really invite him and then he finds his father dead. And that’s (unfortunately) just the beginning of the story. Unendurably awful story is ugly and dull in equal measure and becomes torturous after a while. But the biggest problem is Wood who was a fine child actor but as an adult has no presence, no spark, and almost no charisma and is unable to provide any life to this sleazy material. Avoid like the coronavirus. Continue reading →
September 7, 2020 “The Postcard Killings” (** out of four) was a wearily familiar adaptation of James Patterson’s novel about a hard-boiled NYC detective (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his estranged wife (Famke Janssen) who go to London to investigate the death of their daughter who was murdered on her honeymoon but find there may be a lot more duplicity and deception at play than either realize. Standard-issue Patterson story of murder and mayhem and cops and vengeance but it’s muddled and inert. Morgan is solid as usual and holds your interest for at least a little while but even he has played this role all-too-many times before. Elegant cinematography by Salvatore Tortino is another definite plus. Continue reading →
September 7, 2020 “Snatchers” (*1/2 out of four) was a dumb-and-dumber horror comedy about a disaffected teenager (Mary Nepi) who has sex for the first time and wakes up the next day pregnant with alien twins and all Hell breaks loose in the surrounding town and with her bratty friends (Gabrielle Elyse, J.J. Nolan, Austin Fryberger). Amusing opening but film soon sputters to a witless halt, as it runs out of steam (and brains) pretty quickly. Adapted from a 5-minute short story and short is what it should have remained. Nepi does what she can in the lead but don’t bother “snatching” this one up. Continue reading →
September 6, 2020 “Cut Throat City” (** out of four) was an ambitious but limited melodrama set in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in which four boyhood pals (led by T.I.) run out of options and soon find themselves in real desperation and plot out a dangerous heist; meanwhile, a hard-nosed cop (Eiza Gonzalez) investigates and soon realizes this may have ties all the way up to a wealthy city counselman (Ethan Hawke) and others (Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, Isaiah Washington in the city). Gritty story of childhood ties, the lure and dangers of the street, and corruption has unfortunately been told many times before and loses its thrust at over two hours. Gonzalez is good as the cop but much of the supporting cast is wasted. Continue reading →
September 5, 2020 “Secrets In The Woods” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster thriller about a young woman (Brittany Underwood) who goes along with her boyfriend (Taylor Frey) for a romantic getaway to his cabin in the woods where he was raised but soon meets his nutjob father (Jim Klock) and realizes she is trapped and is unable to escape. Plodding and predictable thriller covers all the usual backwoods thriller cliches (loony gas-station owners, prowling rednecks, etc.) without much craft or style although Klock is amusing as the father. Maybe it’s about time they made a movie about going to the middle of the woods and the characters live happily ever after! Continue reading →
September 5, 2020 “Killer Island” (** out of four) was a pretty shallow suspense melodrama about a married couple (Barbie Castro and Brian Gross) who become targeted by a vindictive killer when they begin to suspect one of the locals of committing a series of recent murders on the island and they attempt to escape before it is too late. Competently made and acted enough to be a decent time-filler but is usurped by its predictability and lack of surprises. Anyone who’s ever watched a suspense thriller or whodunit won’t be terrible surprised by any of the plot twists. Highlighted by Jon Schellenger’s vibrant cinematography and attractive location scenery. Continue reading →
September 4, 2020 “The 2nd” (** out of four) was a fairly routine action potboiler about a world-weary secret service agent (Ryan Phillippe) who is on his way to pick up his estranged son (Jack Griffo) from college when they both find themselves besieged by a psychopathic terrorist (Casper Van Dien) who will stop at nothing to kill his son and his friend (Lexi Simonsen) who is the daughter of a prominent Supreme Court judge. Moves relatively quickly and features the requisite amount of firepower and gunplay but doesn’t offer much we haven’t seen before. Not bad but overall pretty 2nd-rate. Continue reading →
September 4, 2020 “Sorority Secrets” (** out of four) was a suspenseless suspense thriller about a college sorority whose members start suddenly dying and one particular member (Brytnee Ratledge) tries to find out why and get to the bottom of who is killing everybody off. Slickly made and shot but lacking in any surprises or shock value and thus comes up hollow and predictable. This feels like a semester of school we’ve been through all-too-many times. Watch “Sorority Row” or “Sorority House Massacre” for the same story with more style and more plot twists. Continue reading →
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