February 25, 2020 “The Call Of The Wild” (**1/2 out of four) was a diverting adaptation of Jack London’s classic 1903 novel about a sled dog trying to find his place in the wilderness of the Yukon who is taken in by a gruff master (Harrison Ford) while trying to escape from a wealthy and corrupt landowner (Dan Stevens). Visually lush and spectacular cinematography by Janusz Kaminski on stunning Canadian locations but story lags after a while and is partially weakened by some obvious CGI work. A mixed bag but still worth checking out overall for animal lovers like me and fans of London’s novel. Continue reading →
February 24, 2020 “True Fiction” (** out of four) was a pretty unpleasant horror melodrama about a young writer (Sara Garcia) who obtains a job as an assistant for her favorite horror writer (John Cassini) but instead finds herself participating in various psychological and horror experiments in which her safety (and sanity) are threatened. Competently made and acted but story goes overboard with gore and stylistics after a while and starts to wear you out. Not all that different from Kevin Smith’s “Tusk” Continue reading →
February 23, 2020 “Burning Kentucky” (** out of four) was a lumbering melodrama set in the deep South in which a young woman (Emilie Dhir) begins to try to put the pieces together from an event that killed her family and when she finds out the truth- she is put in an emotional and psychological crossfire about whether to avenge their death or let it go and move on. Director Bethany Brooke Anderson and cinematographer Matt Clegg do an impressive job of establishing the Kentucky aura and atmosphere but you soon realize that’s pretty much all the movie is, since it moves ploddingly and never builds to much and all the characters are typical small-town cliches. Even so, this one several awards at independent film festivals last year. Continue reading →
February 22, 2020 “The Jack-In-The-Box” (* out of four) was a dreadful time-waster set in England in which new owners (Casey Reynolds, Lucey-Jane Quinlan) of the title doll begin to suspect there’s something sinister about it but it’s too little and too late for them (and for the audience) before they realize their mistakes and havoc ensues. “Child’s Play” more-or-less told this same story far more scarily and stylishly more than 30 years ago! Audiences would just do as well to pop this back in the box and bury it where it came from. Continue reading →
February 22, 2020 “Hollywould” (** out of four) was a mediocre action melodrama about a celebrity writer (Pete Postiglione) who returns to his hometown to seek inspiration for his next novel but soon meets up with a strange yet seductive woman named Holly (Caitlyn Fletcher) who turns his life inside-and-out. Lots of flashy touches and good individual scenes that unfortunately don’t add up to a cohesive or satisfying whole because it’s too weird although Eric Roberts has one of his best roles in years as an over-the-hill cop who’s retiring. A clever title in search of a better movie. Continue reading →
February 22, 2020 “Fantasy Island” (**1/2 out of four) was a respectable adaptation of the 1970’s television show about a magical island resort hosted by a delightful but insidious millionaire (Michael Pena) who takes his various residents (Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Ryan Hansen, and others) in and indulges their fantasies but they don’t realize how this will affect their reality and thus their sanity and safety. Well-cast and well-told for a while but story gets unnecessarily cerebral and arbitrary in its final third. One of the better adaptations of a ’70’s television show that falls apart in the stretch but is still worth checking out for fans. Continue reading →
February 14, 2020 “Ordinary Love” (** out of four) was an ordinary melodrama about a middle-aged married couple (Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville) whose marriage and stability are put to the tests when his wife is diagnosed with breast-cancer and has to undergo a plethora of treatments. Despite good performances from the leads and a few effective moments in the second half, this is otherwise a pretty straightforward and blah story which almost feels like a t.v. movie. Sadly- it covers ground already seen in many other films. “Miss You Already” and “My Life”, just to name two, were films about terminal cancer which were more potent and incisive. Continue reading →
February 13, 2020 “The Rhythm Section” (** out of four) was a languid melodrama about a drug-addicted prostitute (Blake Lively) who cleans up and gets her life together upon finding out that the plane crash that killed her family years earlier was a terrorist attack and she meets with a British secret agent (Jude Law) who trains her for orchestrating her revenge. Lively is good in an almost unrecognizable role and film holds you initially with its downbeat mood and style but film utterly lacks any momentum and starts to become tedious after a while. Incidentally, this made history as having the worst wide-opening of any film release in theaters last weekend. Continue reading →
February 10, 2020 “Birds Of Prey” (*** out of four) was a colorfully entertaining DC comic-book adaptation about Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who is forced to team up with the superheroes Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to rescue a young girl from an evil crime lord (Ewan McGreggor) intent on taking over the city. Director Cathy Yan ably picks up the reins from “Suicide Squad” creator David Ayer and tells a full-throttle comic story full of action, style, and attitude. Story is a little thin after a while but so what? Robbie is a knockout again in a tailor-made role and Perez has one of her best roles in years as a cop turned superhero. Continue reading →
February 10, 2020 “Dirty Work” (*1/2 out of four) was a sleazy erotic thriller about a struggling fashion designer (Keely Cat Wells) who takes on a job as a personal assistant for a successful erotic novelist (Marc Ozall) and they soon begin having an affair but subsequently find out that someone knows about them and wants to expose them. Plenty of sex scenes for those who want it but it’s all numbing and monotonous after a while. All-too-obviously inspired by “50 Shades Of Grey” but sorely lacking that film’s style or production values. You probably already guessed but this is not a remake of the 1998 Norm Macdonald comedy of the same name. Continue reading →
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