September 3, 2020 “Greenland” (**1/2 out of four) was a brooding action disaster thriller about a construction worker (Gerard Butler) who receives word from the government that it’s apocalypse now and him and his family (Morena Baccarin and Roger Dale Floyd) must go into hiding at a government underground facility before it’s too late but will they survive and make it in time? Intensely done story holds its grip with overall story tension but it starts to lag a little in the second half and many film lovers may notice it’s a little too similar to other end-of-the-world disaster movies (“2012” and “Deep Impact” especially). Butler is rock solid as usual in the lead. Continue reading →
September 2, 2020 “X-Men: The New Mutants” (** out of four) was a tepid action melodrama about five young mutants (Maisie Williams, Anna Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga) who discover their secret and superpower abilities while being held in a secret facility and being mentored by a protective doctor (Alice Braga) but they soon fight to escape and protect themselves from both their past and their future. Thirteenth (and allegedly final) entry in the “X-Men” series is one of its most bland as it takes too long to get going and get off the ground; final third finally delivers the goods and has some flashy special effects but this still feels unsatisfying and unnecessary. Filmed in 2017/2018 and was re-shot and re-edited for years to not much avail. Continue reading →
September 2, 2020 “The Binge” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismal comedy set in the not-too-distant future in which all drugs and drug use are illegal and highly punishable except for one day of the year; several teenagers and troublemakers (Skyler Gisondo, Dexter Darden, Eduardo Franco, and others) and the school principal (Vince Vaughn) try to get in on the action but soon realize this may be one mighty long night. Clever storyline is an obvious homage to “The Purge” but that’s about all that’s clever about it; one pretty funny scene of them bringing a cow back to life provides the only laughs in the movie. Beware of song-and-dance number in the final third and the grating soundtrack which are particularly painful. It’s movies like this that may make you check out an N.A. meeting instead. Continue reading →
September 1, 2020 “Centigrade” (** out of four) was a pretty banal melodrama about a married couple (Vincent Piazza and Genesis Rodriguez) who find themselves trapped in their submerged vehicle after a blizzard and struggle to survive amid the frigid temperatures, lack of food and water, and other multiple obstacles. Film is an entirely two-character story which we’ve seen many times before (“Open Water”, “The Road”, etc.) and may have worked better on the stage than as a feature film. Both Piazza and Rodriguez are good and do what they can with underdeveloped roles but this still doesn’t quite make the grade. Continue reading →
August 31, 2020 “Tenet” (*** out of four) was a captivating time-traveling thriller only from the mind of Christopher Nolan about a C.I.A. agent (John David Washington) who must journey through a twilight world of international espionage involving his handler (Robert Pattinson) and a Russian anarchist (Kenneth Brannagh more-or-less playing the same role he played in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”) in order to prevent the escalation of World War III. Writer/director Nolan throws in numerous homages to James Bond and obvious stylistic/thematic parallels to his own “Inception” for a film that is alternately complex, involving, abstract, cerebral, and exciting and sometimes all at once. A little long to be sure but never stops swiftly moving and keeping you involved. Continue reading →
August 31, 2020 “Bill And Ted Face The Music” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently amusing third entry in the popular comedy series about the title airheads (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) who find themselves as middle-aged dads who are still trying to fulfill their destiny by writing a rock song that will save and unite the universe and have to travel through time and turn to their old friend the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) once again. Reeves and Winter ably recreate their goofy chemistry from the first two but like those movies this is pretty thin stuff and uneven. Neither excellent nor bogus but better than you might expect and a decent try dudes! Continue reading →
August 30, 2020 “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” (** out of four) was a scattershot documentary about the actor David Arquette who persevered through a lot of snickering and resistance to incredibly enter a successful second career as a pro wrestler even as his personal life and health began to falter. Hard-core fans of Arquette (whomever there are out there) will find this to be a real scream but for the rest of us- it’s fitfully entertaining only in spots and becomes redundant after a while. Features some colorful interviews with Ric Flair, Courtney Cox, Patricia and Roseanna Arquette, among others. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Eye For An Eye” (** out of four) was a jumbled action melodrama about a disavowed C.I.A. agent (Alex Sturman) who goes on the run when she is attacked by various mercenaries who realize she has a missing memory card that could lead to the start of World War III; she then turns to her only ally (Clayton Haymes) to sort out who she can trust and how she can stay alive. Both predictable and confusing, as film follows the prototype of other political action melodramas (“The Bourne Identity” in particular) and has too many twists and turns although it moves fast enough to make it endurable. No relation to the 1996 John Schlesinger/Sally Field movie of the same name. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Josie And Jack” (*1/2 out of four) was a gloomy and boring melodrama about the title characters Josie and Jack (Olivia DeJonge and Alex Neustadter) who have been raised in seclusion by their tyrannical father (William Fichtner) and have never had anyone but each other to depend on but they venture out as teenagers and try to adapt and assimilate to the real world. Ploddingly (and pointlessly) told with no narrative or dramatic momentum and thus no spark or impact. DeJonge’s sincere performance is film’s one bright spot but this is a real oddity. Set for no particular reason in the 1990’s; for no particular reason should you see this anyway. Continue reading →
August 29, 2020 “Hold Fast, Good Luck” (** out of four) was an oppressive soaper about two Generation X’ers (Olivia Hamilton, Antonimar Murphy) who form a relationship that crosses cultural/ethnic/personal boundaries while they try to assess all of this and determine the next step for their own lives and for each other. Writer/director Denny Wong shows his obvious influences here to Woody Allen and Nick Cassavettes and puts in a game effort but neither the characters nor the script are worth our sustained time of an hour-and-a-half; after a while it all seems fake and pre-fabricated which prevent one from getting involved and invested. Continue reading →
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