October 7, 2019 “Joker” (** out of four) was an oppressively weird and pretentious origin story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a mentally troubled man in Gotham City whose life goes on a downward spiral into depression and psychosis and violence and soon turns into his alter-ego of The Joker. Director Todd Phillips initially holds you with a mood and style that is a throwback to Martin Scorcese’s “Taxi Driver” but you begin to realize that’s all that the movie is, as it never shifts into high-gear and wallows in unpleasantness for nearly two hours. Phoenix is outstanding in the lead role but his character becomes monotonous after a while, much like the movie itself. Continue reading →
October 6, 2019 “Abominable” (*** out of four) was a cute animated children’s story about a teenage girl (voiced by Chloe Bennet) who finds a Yeti on the roof of her apartment and attempts to reunite him with his family but have to contend with an evil millionaire (voiced by Eddie Izzard) and a zoologist (voiced by Sarah Paulson) who want to capture him. Story and script are slight overall but lush and luminous animation makes this well-worth watching both for kids and animation fans. Beautiful and lyrical score by Rupert Gregson Williams with violins is a definite plus. Continue reading →
October 6, 2019 “My Soul To Keep” (*** out of four) was an overall well-done horror story about a young boy (Parker Smerek) who is convinced there’s a monster in his basement which is trying to steal his soul and he has to help convince his family before it is too late. Off-putting and slow-moving at first but film gradually builds in intrigue and momentum as it goes along and eventually grabs you. Director Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad harkens back to early Spielberg but directs with a strong style and atmosphere that makes this a sleeper. Continue reading →
October 5, 2019 “How To Get Rid Of A Body (And Still Be Friends)” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly stupid and contrived comedy about three female best friends (Kristin Dattilo, Nicole Burch, and Kristen Lynn) who reunite for a weekend getaway but plans hit a detour when they accidentally kill a pizza deliveryman and they have to scurry to get rid of the body and cover things up. Humorous title provides the only real laugh in this almost complete fiasco. They should have gotten rid of the script and director instead. Filmed partially in Canaindagua, NY but upstate NY deserves far better than this. Continue reading →
October 5, 2019 “Nighthawks” (* out of four) was a disastrous “comedy” about two yuppies (Chase Crawford and Kevin Zegers) who venture into the NYC nightlife and are taken in by nighthawks which are an elite group of millenials who harbor dark secrets about the NY party scene. Opening scenes have some sharp dialogue but all is downhill after that, as movie meanders into numerous different directions and goes nowhere slowly. No relation to the 1981 Sylvester Stallone action movie of the same name but you may wish he’d show up and kick ass Continue reading →
October 5, 2019 “Santa Fake” (*1/2 out of four) was a treacly comedy drama about a young man (Damian McGinty) who immigrates from Ireland to America and soon finds himself possibly getting the job as the helper for Santa Claus in Santa Fe, New Mexico (get the title now?). Slapdash story tries to mix unfunny comedy with dismal attempts at Irish classic songs and underworld adventure into a holiday package well-worth rejecting. Jeff Fahey and Judd Nelson seem to have wandered in from a completely different movie and are wasted as moronic thugs. Continue reading →
October 5, 2019 “President Evil” (*1/2 out of four) was an insultingly derivative horror melodrama about three high-school girls (Sitara Attaie, Amber Boone, and Naomi Franck) who are stalked and pursued during election months by a nutjob dressed as (you guessed it) President Trump. Film rips off the original “Halloween” so much (right down to the music score) that the scariest thing about the movie is John Carpenter hasn’t followed up with a lawsuit! Cleverly titled but otherwise a real time-waster. Hilary and Bernie supporters are the only ones who might find some more merit here. Continue reading →
October 5, 2019 “Gemini Man” (*** out of four) was a perceptive thriller in which an over-the-hill hitman (Will Smith) on the verge of retirement means a femme-fatale (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) which leads him back to underworld intrigue and he soon finds he has to square-off against a younger assassin version of himself (!) which was sent to kill by the top brass and factions (led by Clive Owen) of the C.I.A. Impressively done C.G.I. and visual effects authentically shows Smith acting and fighting against his younger self which looks exactly as he did almost 20 years ago! Underneath these eye-catch effects, however, film’s plotting is relatively conventional and ordinary with the expected twists and turns. Not the great film it could have been but still fast-moving and entertaining. Continue reading →
October 4, 2019 “3 From Hell” (* out of four) was a mind-numbingly stupid and ugly horror show about the continuing adventures of Baby Firefly (Sherri Moon Zombie), Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Otis Firefly (Bill Moseley) and other swell folks as they are captured by authorities and escape and resume their less-than-enthralling killing odyssey. Third in the series is yet another of Rob Zombie’s exercises and excesses in white-trash redneck nihilism as he regurgitates all of his horror movie influences from the 70’s. Moon Zombie is particularly annoying and off-putting here; Moseley actually looks like a cross between Rob Zombie and Charles Manson and makes this even more of an unwatchable freak show. Sadly, Haig died just 5 days after this film’s release. Continue reading →
October 3, 2019 “The Young Cannibals” (** out of four) was a pointless horror thriller about seven friends (Megan Purvis, Samuel Freeman, Hannah Louise Howell, and others) who inadvertently summon a monster when they eat hamburgers that are made of human flesh and they soon find themselves fighting for their lives! Beautifully photographed and unusually well-made horror movie unfortunately is done in by its own ridiculous story and final third really starts to drag. Moody electronic music score by Gabe Castro is a definite plus. Continue reading →
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