June 8, 2019 “Recovery” (*1/2 out of four) was a moribund horror story set at a secluded heroin treatment center in which the staff (Hope Quattrocki, Mike Starr, and others) and patients (Stephanie Pearson, Liz Fenning, and others) are being killed off one-by-one and they need to find the killer and escape. Movie fans will note the return of first-rate character actor Starr who plays the villainous head doctor but the film itself never recovers from a glum script and by-the-numbers filmmaking. Not all that different from Sylvester Stallone’s “D-Tox”. Continue reading →
June 7, 2019 “Dead End” (*1/2 out of four) was an aptly titled misfire set in L.A. as a young couple (Daran Acevedo and Sierra Collins) try to escape the cycle of drugs, crime, and violence that have entrapped them for years but find that leaving this life is much more fierce and difficult than they imagined. Promising opening about the drug trade and its effects on society proves to be a dead end in itself, as film becomes a by-the-numbers underworld story with unlikeable characters. Vivica Fox is top-billed but is only in the movie for a few scenes; clunkers like this make you wish someone would “set it off” for her and finally reignite her career. Continue reading →
June 7, 2019 “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (*** out of four) was a pensive final entry in the “X-Men” series focusing on Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) who suffers a tragic accident as a child which leads to her gradually developing superpowers that turn into the Dark Phoenix who threatens worldwide destruction while the rest of the X-Men (James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and others) have to decide whether to save her or save the universe. Twelfth entry in the “X-Men” franchise (and a direct sequel to “X-Men Apocalypse”) is a satisfying conclusion to the series, with the expected array of dazzling effects and action sequences. Turner’s strong performance and melancholy aura and Hans Zimmer’s terrific music score are a good help for some occasional lulls in script. Continue reading →
June 6, 2019 “Relaxer” (0 stars out of four) was a terminally weird and incomprehensible story set entirely in the livingroom around the Y2K apocalypse as it focuses on one guy (Joshua Burge) who has to survive- mentally and psychologically- by beating the latest Pac Man game and he is unable to get off the couch until he does. If you make it through the first 15 minutes, you might make it through the entire movie but at an hour-and-a-half- proceed at your own peril. Moronically self-indulgent movie is more of an experiment than an actual film. Continue reading →
June 6, 2019 “Godzilla: King Of The Monsters” (*** out of four) was a kinetic sequel to the 2014 reboot about a paleobiologist (Vera Farmiga) for the company Monarch and her ex-husband (Kyle Chandler) who are thrust in the midst of an escalating battle between Godzilla and various other monsters including Mothra, Rodan, and the three-headed King Ghidorah. Loaded with spectacular visual effects and impressive large-scale action scenes that more than give fans their money’s worth. Story is a little thin but it’s more than compensated by its first-rate cast, including good turns from Charles Dance and Ken Watanabe. Continue reading →
June 5, 2019 “Mollywood” (* out of four) was a trashy and stupid thriller about a serial killer (Micah Fitzgerald) who disguises himself as a drug dealer to give people a potent street drug (molly in case anyone didn’t guess) that will soon kill them; meanwhile, a determined street cop (Vincius Mercado) tries to track him and bring him down. Cleverly titled misfire is visually ugly and no fun at all. Continue reading →
June 4, 2019 “Rocketman” (*** out of four) was an entertaining look at the early life of Elton John (Taron Egerton) who became a pop phenomenon in the 70’s but still had to come to terms with his place in rock music and with his homosexuality and various personal and family problems that led him to drugs and depression and threatened to end his life. Not so much a biography as a musical, which encompasses his upbringing and the early part of his career, but it is well-done and features plenty of his early great music. But the film wouldn’t work so well without Egerton who is first-rate in the lead and a dead-ringer for John. Continue reading →
June 3, 2019 “Ma” (** out of four) was a pretty routine thriller about a group of high-schoolers (Diane Silvers, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, and others) who befriend a lonely older woman (Octavia Spencer) who lets them party in her basement but they soon realize she’s a real sicko and that their lives are all in danger. Spencer is good as usual but film treads on all-too-familiar territory to provide many scares or thrills. Disappointing reteaming of her and director Tate Taylor who previously scored big with “The Help.” Continue reading →
June 3, 2019 “Domino” (*** out of four) was a solidly done political action thriller in which a veteran cop (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) apprehends a suspect (Eriq Ebouaney) who killed his partner and he turns out to be an international terrorist who is freed by the C.I.A. and he has to work with his partner’s wife (Carice Van Houten) to track him down and apprehend him. Less-than-perfect, with a script that doesn’t always make the most sense, but film retains its uneasy tension from beginning to finish. Director Brian De Palma throws in his usual HItchbock references and homages and stages his action scenes with panache to satisfy fans. Guy Pearce is terrific in a showy supporting role as a C.I.A. agent. Continue reading →
June 3, 2019 “The Dead Don’t Die” (** out of four) was a meandering horror comedy about the townsfolk (Tilda Swinton,Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Carol Kane, and many others) in upstate NY which finds itself battling the zombie apocalypse as the dead (led by Iggy Pop) begin rising from the grave and wreaking havoc and two local cops (Bill Murray and Adam Driver) try to stop it. Director Jim Jarmusch’s attempt at a George Romero horror story is too belated and half-hearted to come alive. Murray is funny as always but most of the rest of the all-star cast are given nothing to do. Most of film was actually shot in Hudson Valley and Columbia County. Continue reading →
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