May 16, 2026 “The Punisher: One Last Kill” (** out of four) was a meager continuation of the classic Marvel series about Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) who is now an alcoholic with severe PTSD but has to spring back into vigilante action when the matriarch (Judith Light) of a crime family he once brutalized recognizes him and swears vengeance. Lacks the emotional resonance and stylish intensity of “Punisher: War Zone” (by far the best of the series) and seems hollow and routine. Bernthal also co-wrote the screenplay and is solid in the lead role but is/was blown away by Ray Stephenson. Continue reading →
May 16, 2026 “Faces Of Death” (** out of four) was an uneven remake of the 1978 cult horror classic about a website-content moderator (Barbie Ferreira) who comes across a series of videos reproducing the gruesome killings from the original and realizes it’s the work of a copycat murderer (Dacre Montgomery). Alternately plodding, effective, pretentious, and overly weird and doesn’t congeal into a satisfying whole. Made with some skill and good production values but doesn’t match the revelatory shock and scares of the original. Filmed in 2023. Continue reading →
May 16, 2026 “Forbidden Fruits” (*1/2 out of four) was a charmless teen comedy/melodrama/horror thriller about a secret witch cult (Lili Reinhart, Victoria Pedertti, Alexandra Shipp) that operates out of a mall store (!) but the arrival of a new hiree (Lola Tung) forces them to question their darkness and sisterhood strength. Starts off relatively briskly but then quickly descends into a synthetic monstrosity combination of “Mean Girls” and “The Craft.” In fact- the Toronto mall used in this film is the exact same one used in “Mean Girls”…………but there’s no Regina George Continue reading →
May 12, 2026 “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” (** out of four) was a grim reimagining of “The Mummy” franchise about the daughter (Laia Costa) of a prominent journalist (Jack Reynor) who vanishes in the heart of the desert without a trace; upon returning home 8 years later, her family begins to realize she isn’t quite the same daughter she was before she left. Much more of a horror movie than an action story like previous movies but not very scary and has no sense of humor either. A few creepy moments to be sure and some superior visual effects towards the end but perhaps it’s time this series was mummified itself and buried. Continue reading →
May 12, 2026 “Predatory Behavior” (* out of four) was a grisly pulp melodrama about sex workers that are vanishing all over the city from a ruthless killer and two detectives (Keon Taylor and Dorrean Wilson) try to put an end to his reign of terror before he kills again. Taylor and Wilson actually make a decent team but film is hamstrung by its tawdry production and ugly violence. Strictly for the late-night grindhouse crowd. Continue reading →
May 12, 2026 “Ice-Pocalypse” (** out of four) was an utterly conventional action disaster melodrama in which a new moon is caught in Earth’s gravitational pull that results in a new ice age; scientists and militants (Patrick Labyoryeaux, Danielle Titus, Krymis J. Fernando, and others) race against the clock to destroy the second moon and save mankind as we know it. A disaster movie made only for those who’ve never seen a disaster movie, specifiically “The Day After Tomorrow” or “2012” which told more-or-less the same story better. Some decent effects and filmmaking make this OK viewing for what it is. Continue reading →
May 8, 2026 “Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome sequel to the unlikely 2019 hit about Grace (Samara Weaving) and her sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) who survived one deadly game and now must compete against four other ruthless families (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood, and others) all vying in a game of death for a priceless throne. Plenty of gore for those who want it but it’s all pretty senseless and stupid and you’ll eventually be numbed by all the monotonous unpleasantness after a while. Good cast is mostly wasted including director Cronenberg whose early work (“The Brood”, “Rabid”) this was obviously inspired by. Continue reading →
May 8, 2026 “Mortal Kombat II” (** out of four) was a curiously bland sequel about the group of warrior champions (Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, and others) who are now joined by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) and are pitted against one another to stop the world domination threat of Shao Khan (Martyn Ford). Full of the usual martial-arts mayhem and hand-to-hand combat but it all seems pretty by-the-numbers with one-note characters and a paper-thin script that don’t do the video game justice. Enough to satisfy long-time “Kombat” fans but others will likely want to press game over. Continue reading →
May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 “Money Ain’t Everything” (** out of four) was a stylish but empty urban melodrama set in Detroit about a street hustler (Champ Finley) who battles betrayal within his own crew (Dion Rice, 6IAOR, and others) and various corrupt cops (H. Carrington, Shalada Hunter, and others) as he struggles to survive the game. Guns, sex, drugs, cash, etc etc by-the-numbers in this overly familiar story although fast-moving enough to remain watchable. Finley shows some promise in the lead role. Continue reading →
May 7, 2026 “Insidious Inferno” (* out of four) was an insidiously awful horror thriller about a young couple (Neil Green and Stephanie Leet) who rent a cottage in a secluded village that is (what else) haunted and had a series of gruesome past murders that remain unsolved. Umpteenth rip-off of “The Amityville Horror” and also “The Haunting” with the “Insidious” title added as a crash cash-in. Whatever; film is permeated with tired cliches and looks cheap. Continue reading →
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