July 2, 2020 “Alive” (*1/2 out of four) was an overbearing horror thriller set in an abandoned sanitarium in which a man and a woman (Thomas Cocquerel and Camille Stopps) awake and find that a psychotic doctor (Angus Macfadyen) is holding them hostage and he holds the keys to their true identity and thus their survival. Seedy production design and decrepit cinematography are creepy but you’ll eventually be swallowed up and numbed by all the unpleasantness. This is what audiences get for having made “Saw” such a huge hit. Continue reading →
July 1, 2020 “Viena And The Fantomes” (*1/2 out of four) was an incomprehensible slog about a young roadie (Dakota Fanning) who goes on tour with a noxious and hard-living punk bank (Phillip Ettinger, Ryan LeBeouf, and others) in the 1980’s and this leads to an odyssey of discovery and a self-catharsis of revelations for her. Unpleasant, uninvolving, and pretty much unwatchable all the way through; even the usually bright Fanning is a one-note zombie and she starred in a much better rock ‘n’ roll movie “The Runaways” in 2009. This was filmed in 2014 and was re-tooled and re-edited for years to no avail and hasn’t exactly aged like fine wine. Continue reading →
July 1, 2020 “Jasper Mall” (** out of four) was a curiously flat and unmoving documentary about a shopping mall in Jasper, Alabama and its declining fortunes in today’s economy. Potentially incendiary look at capitalism, consumerism, and the effects of internet commerce on today’s shopping mall revenue is indifferently handled, as most of the focus is on various shoppers and store workers and their own lives, instead of the mall itself. As a result, film meanders and never comes to life. You can only imagine what the Michael Moore of “Roger And Me” or the Charles Ferguson of “Inside Job” would have done with interesting material like this. Continue reading →
June 30, 2020 “Lection” (0 out of four stars) was an absolutely worthless “horror” movie set in a post-apocalyptic world that resembles an ancient society in which many citizens (Mike Amason, Jennifer Hill, Bradley J. Petit, and others) try to come to terms with each other’s differences and survive. Don’t look for more plot that or much else either (much of the film doesn’t even have dialogue). If you’re looking to kill time, this film beats it to death slowly and painfully. This turkey somewhat resembles M. Night Shymalahan’s “The Village” but this makes that look like “The Sixth Sense” by comparison. Please for the love of God- don’t elect to waste your time on this one Continue reading →
June 30, 2020 “What Goes Around” (* out of four) was an unbearable horror show about an introverted college student (Catherine Morvell) who discovers that the guy (Jesse Bouma) she has a crush on may be a notorious serial killer and that her life may be in danger if her sanity isn’t overwhelmed first. Passable beginning soon gives way to ugliness and unpleasant characters and violence and soon goes nowhere slowly and cheaply and never gets back on track. Further proof that “what goes around” does not always come back around. Continue reading →
June 29, 2020 “Day Of The Stranger” (** out of four) was a logy Western about a bounty hunter (Dale Sheppard) who works for a ruthless crime kingpin (Gary Shail) and is suddenly left for dead after one bounty retrieval goes awry but then subsequently awakens at home and has to piece his memories back together of what happened and what went wrong especially after a mysterious stranger (Gary Baxter) comes to town. Writer/director Thomas Lee Rutter tries to add spice and style to the trite proceedings with whiplash editing and hyperactive camerawork but it’s all for very little since the basic storyline is pretty dull. Based on a short story by Mark Twain which it should have remained. Continue reading →
June 28, 2020 “Dwellers: The Curse Of Pastor Stokes” (** out of four) was a tired supernatural horror thriller about the title pastor (Sean Kaufman) who has to contend with a series of exorcised spirits that come back to haunt him and his church and his surrounding community and he has to try everything in his will power to send them back to the bowels of Hell. Umpteenth story of religious symbolism, exorcisms, and demonic possession; well-made and decently acted especially by the standards of this dreck but you’ve seen it all before and much better, going all the way back to “The Exorcist” in 1973. There’s not much left for this genre anymore except to go to Hell itself! Continue reading →
June 28, 2020 “Good Kisser” (** out of four) was a superficial melodrama about two female lovers (Kari Alison Hodge and Rachel Paulson) who meet a mysterious stranger (Julia Eringer) at her home for dinner and open up to her about their relationship but this leads to a sexual triangle of revelations and secrets that affects all of them. Pointless story fails to build any substantial momentum or emotional involvement as all three actresses do what they can with limited material. Despite the sexual fireworks, film’s overall affect is curiously cool and muted. This may have worked better as a small-scale play, rather than as a feature film. Continue reading →
June 28, 2020 “Scare Package” (*1/2 out of four) was a gory, one-note horror anthology about the owner (Jeremy King) of a horror-movie video store (are you laughing yet? How’s that for a nostalgic kneeslapper?) who recounts seven tales of horror mayhem to his newest employee (Jon Michael Simpson). Yet another “Creepshow”/”Tales From The Darkside” wannabe that falls short and becomes thin very quickly. Joe Bob Briggs shows up late in the game but as one of the survivors but this is still a package hardly worth opening. Continue reading →
June 27, 2020 “The Point Of No Return” (** out of four) was a cumbersome WWII melodrama about a dwindling group of German soldiers (Mhairi Calvey, Chris Wilson, Laura Jean Marsh, and others) who have to overcome personal and physical dangers and complexities to return to their battle lines on the harsh Eastern front. Some scattered effective moments and magnificent cinematography are offset by film’s overlength at nearly two hours and uneven pacing. Many familiar with this time period in history and veterans from WWII may find film more stirring and involving but there have been many other better WWII films prior. A middling effort from veteran war producer/writer/director Rick Roberts. other better WWII films prior. A middling effort from veteran war producer/writer/director Rick Roberts. Continue reading →
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